Under Glass
by SirJoshizzle
Summary: Romantic thoughts have no place in a friendship. Or so they say. Present AU, High School, Tidus x Yuna.
1. Yuna: I Wish You Knew

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Hello. This was an idea I had while watching "I Love the 90s." I know what you're thinking: that's one hell of a show to watch while thinking of new story ideas. But I promise you that this will be nothing like you read before- at least that's what my reviewers tell me. Anyway, like _Him and Her_ (which I assure you, is going to be updated in due time), it's in an alternate universe (they live in Japan, not in Spira), they're in high school (although, the high school setting plays a minor role in this story), and there's some OOCness. Yeah? Okay. 

This is a little trailer for you: Tidus and Yuna, both seventeen, have been living with their guardian Auron since they were both five. In that time, they have become the best of friends. Since Yuna was fourteen, she began to develop feelings for him that were anything but platonic. But, for the sake of their friendship, she has kept such emotions under glass. But what happens when that glass breaks, and all her feelings become exposed? But more importantly, does Tidus feel the same way?

Oh yeah, I forgot the damn disclaimer. I don't own Final Fantasy X. Just so you know.

One more thing: The point of view switches from Yuna to Tidus every chapter, with Yuna starting chapter one. Just so you know. It's my first time using the whole first-person perspective thing, so when you review, don't go ballistic on me on how I didn't do a stellar job or something of that nature. Any obvious typos during the flashback scene in the bedroom were intentional. This fic, like many others, will feature Japanese dialogue (I'm pretty proficient in Japanese). Anyway, that's it. okay? Okay. Now you can start reading.

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Under Glass  
Sir Joshizzle

Perfection.

Pure, unadulterated perfection.

That was the only word that was even remotely appropriate to describe Tidus Sasaki.

I'll start off from the beginning, because I know you're thinking that this is another cheesy, clichéd memoir of a high school girl befriending the most popular guy in school.

Let me just say, that you can scratch out the part about him being popular, because he's anything but.

It started when I was about five or six. I came from a very wealthy family; one of the most affluent and influential in all of _nijusanku_. My mother died giving birth to me, so, other than my aunts, I never really had a motherly figure to look up to. My father fell ill with cancer when I was four. My aunts and uncles and grandparents searched all of Japan for the best doctors to help him. But all of their treatments- medicines, chemotherapy, you name it- wasn't enough to save him. He passed on very short after, about two and a half months after being diagnosed. But before he died, he refused to put me in the custody of my relatives. It's not that he didn't trust them with me, but that he said that a friend of him owed him a very large favor.

His lifelong friend, Auron Shibasaki, a business man who works at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, was personally appointed by my father to take me into his care. Even though he wasn't someone who would have children of his own, he did have a way with kids. Anyway, he took me into his home. After that, my life was never the same.

I vividly remember the first time I stepped into his penthouse in the Bunkyo ward. It wasn't exactly the giant mansion my family owned in Chiyoda, but it was very upper-middle class, or lower-upper class, whatever floats your boat. He introduced me to a little boy that looked my age.

"Yuna, this is Tidus," Auron introduced.

He had dirty blonde hair, and his skin was a tannish color. His blue eyes sparkled with curiosity but promise. He was wearing a light blue t-shirt, black shorts, and flip flops.

I remember smiling and waving politely. He, in return, just nodded in acknowledgement.

"Good mowning, Yuna-chan," he greeted in a cute but monotonous voice.

I had a feeling that he was suspicious about me, but, being the naïve five year old little girl I was, I thought nothing of it.

"Tidus, take Yuna with you and show her to her new room, okay?"

Tidus nodded obediently. "Yes, Auron-sama."

He took my small hand in his own and guided me up the stairs. As we ascended the staircase, I heard Auron order two servants to bring my bags up to my room.

He led me down a long hall and stopped at a large door. He let go of my hand, and jumped up to reach the doorknob. He took hold of it with both of his hands and twisted it open. I saw his grip loosen and he fell on the ground butt first.

"Owwww…" He groaned quietly, rubbing his sore behind. I couldn't help but giggle at how cute he was. He looked up at me and blushed softly. He got up, dusted his back end and legs off, and pushed the door open for me.

The room I saw before me left me lost for words. I couldn't help but gasp at how large and spacious the room was. It wasn't as big as my old room at the mansion, but this one was _very_ livable. I ran inside and spun around in place in the middle of the huge room.

The walls were painted a warm baby blue, and on the ceiling was a very large and expensive looking diamond chandelier. At one end was a large super-king sized bed with a pink bed skirt, soft, satin champagne colored linens, and on the pillow sheets and the comforter was my initials stitched in with gold thread, "YK," for "Yuna Kuriyama." There were nightstands on either side of the bed with lamps on them, and on the lampshades were my initials stitched in again. At the opposite end of the bed was a wall mounted flat-screen high definition television with an expensive looking stereo system. A few feet from the television was a washroom. The counters were solid marble, the sinks were made of gold, and the taps were carved out of platinum. There was a door on the right leading to a toilet, a shower stall, and a bathtub with therapeutic jets. On the wall where the door is was a walk-in closet with a giant mirror next to the door. And the wall opposite to the door was occupied by giant French doors and floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling light into the gargantuan room and displaying a panoramic view of Tokyo.

"Wooow!" I exclaimed in happiness, laughing all the while.

I noticed Tidus standing at the doorway, smiling at me.

I stopped for a second. I climbed onto the bed and bounced on it a little. I motioned for Tidus to sit next to me, patting the mattress with my left hand.

He paused for a little bit, but then walked in slowly with his hands in his pockets. I helped him onto the bed and we sat next to each other in silence.

A long silence.

The last time I experienced that kind of stillness was when I was in the waiting room at the hospital as everyone was quiet when they received news from a nurse that my father had just died. Of course they didn't tell me about it; they thought it would scar me for life. To be honest. I'm glad they didn't; I had just come back from a day at Ueno Zoo with my cousins. Learning that my father had died isn't exactly what one would consider the best way to end a fun-filled day.

I looked at him, who was in turn staring at his lap, his blonde locks covering his eyes.

I rested my hand on his, and he shuddered a little. Thinking I did something wrong, I pulled back.

"What's, wong, Tidus-kun?" I asked.

He looked up at me, shaking his head slightly to get the hair out of his eyes.

"Your smile… reminds me of my mommy…"

I smiled weakly, flattered that I reminded him of someone that special.

"Where is she?" I asked.

He gulped hard- I could tell by the way his throat tensed.

"Auron-sama told me she's in a pwace far away, called 'heaven.' I sure hope she comes home soon. I miss her…"

My face lit up. "Heaven!"

He looked up at me, confused.

"My daddy says my mom's there, too!"

His expression changed from depressed to beaming in no time flat.

"No way! Maybe they're on vacation together!"

I nodded quickly. "Yeah! We have to tell Auron-sama!"

We both ran out of _my new room_, and down the stairs, wanting to tell Auron that our moms were together.

That was the day we both learned that our moms, _and _our dads, left this earth for Heaven on an extended "vacation." I remember crying so much when I learned that not only was my mom gone, but my dad was too. Auron comforted me by hugging me until I cried myself to sleep, but what was more meaningful to me was that Tidus also hugged me. He was crying as well, but he was crying silently and practically noiseless, unlike me, who was making more noise than the scramble crossing in Shibuya.

As the days turned into months, and the months turned into years, Tidus and I formed a bond. A bond that was stronger than adamantine. But it wasn't a quick-forming friendship.

You see, for some reason, Tidus has a hard time trusting and relying on people. It's always been like that, and by the looks of things, it was like it wasn't going to change anytime soon.

From day one, when Auron first introduced us to each other, I knew that if I wanted to make friends with Tidus, it would take an unimaginable amount of patience. I could tell by that look in his eyes, the same look I described to you: full of suspicion toward those he didn't know, but warmth and gentleness to those he cared deeply about.

I learned quickly that Tidus was rather anti-social, and didn't talk much, even around familiar company. I have to admit that living together was nice, although it could have been better if he just warmed up to me.

We started off with small talk. You know, "Hi! How's are you? Bye!" It was frustrating for me, because I really wanted to be friends with him, but he just wouldn't put down the walls that so safely guarded him from being hurt. It kind of depressed me, you know? I started to feel that he didn't like me.

It went on like that for three years, up until we were eight. Just when I was going to give up all hope, he knocked a wall down.

'I was in!' I thought. I finally made it through to Tidus Sasaki. But I had to be careful, especially at this point. The last thing I wanted to do was do something to shatter our so strong, but so fragile relationship.

Our small talk slowly evolved into light-hearted conversations, which in turn transformed into a full-fledged best friend, buddy-buddy relationship.

Although I was so very happy that I got a chance to make friends with Tidus, I had a gut feeling that it would come back and bite me later.

We did everything together: we started daycare together, elementary school together, got punished by Auron together, finished middle school together- everything we learned, we did it together.

We shared our deepest secrets with each other, and only each other. I felt… no… I _knew_ that I was the only one who Tidus could trust with anything.

Sometimes in school, we were sent to a counselor for being inseparable, and that we had separation anxiety. As much as we hated to admit it, they_were_ kind of right. We would usually play with only each other. I had a few friends, but not to the same extent as my friendship with Tidus. To tell the truth, Tidus got pretty clingy in mixed company. Mostly because he was afraid of being left alone. One would find such a thing irritating and annoying, but not me. Sometimes he would practically beg for me to not leave him, and nothing's cuter than a guy begging, right? Didn't think so, Hahah.

At first, it you judged him just by how he looks on the outside- cold, aloof, anti-social, and a loner, then you'd most likely think twice before trying to say even "hello." But if you got by all of that, you'll find that you couldn't have a better friend. He'll do anything for you, even if it means his own life. If you're happy, he'll be there to laugh with you. If you're sad, he'll be there so you'll have a shoulder to cry on. If you're sick, he'll be there to care for you. If you're hungry, he'll cook for you. …Need I go on? Didn't think so.

If you're lucky, he'll also grace you with his smile. His perfect, toothy, pearly white smile. You'd swear that his teeth were so glossy and bright that you could see your reflection in them, or that the sunlight could reflect off them. His smile is more than enough to light up my day- literally.

Of course, like any generic "high school girl falls for perfect but stupid boy" story, I bet you'd expect him to be the same, right? That one hot, and quiet loner who would fail classes again and again?

_Wrong-o._

He was smart, with a capital size 72 font "S." How smart you ask? Smart enough to be at the top of our class, and probably the only person in Japanese history that could get into _Todai_ without taking the high school exit exam _or_ the entrance exam. Imagine a teenage Jimmy Neutron with a normal sized head. But even then, that metaphor is an understatement.

It goes without saying- at least I don't think so- that he's super_hot._ I mean "sizzle fo' shizzle" hot. His body sure has changed from the five year old toddler that I first met twelve years ago. But then again, what do you expect? You can't imagine someone like Tidus staying three feet tall forever? His hair grew shaggier- in a cute and boyish kind of way, his teeth got whiter- if that was possible, his build got more muscular, and his smile became more charming and irresistable. He also began growing a moustache, stubble, and pretty much a goatee. Some people would think that he could use a good shave, but I couldn't have him any other way. I personally thought it made him look older than he actually was, in a mysterious and seductive kind of way.

Hmm. Let me go into details about the whole "build got more muscular" deal. I bet any girl whose reading this would kill me if I didn't.

He's got the body of… simply put, a _god._ A god and then some. It's very much a work of art. Every muscle, every ripple, and every tendon has been cut with excellent pricision, like a marble statue carved by a master sculptor. Picture the statue of David in Italy come to life, only, and this is just a guess, that Tidus is, in my mind anyway, very much more "endowed" than David could ever hope to be. His abs are to die for. Drop a coin on them and watch it bounce, right back into your palm. His pecs are unparalleled. Any guy would dream to have the body he has. The fact that he eats junk food and candy like no tomorrow is pretty astonishing, too. He eats a _lot_. Don't let that scare you, though. He's not like a "feed him a well-done sirloin steak and see how much of your arm you come back with" sort of thing. But really; he could literally eat a whole horse and not get fat. I don't know his secret. To any jealous guy, he does not take steroids, so just accept the fact that you could never reach the level of perfection Tidus has. But don't let that make you think you're hopeless, Hahah.

Despite coming off as the broody type, he's anything but. He certainly knows how to have a good time. Most of you probably think that it's me that think of all the fun ideas and cause the trouble with Auron by showing up three hours past curfew. But you couldn't be more wrong even if you tried. All our scolding, all our groundings, all our everything's were because of Tidus' antics. Not to say that he's a troublemaker. He's really obedient, and very, very respectful, especially towards girls and elders. But to balance out his goody two-shoes side, he has the most playful and energetic soul any guy could ever have. We spend hours upon hours playing video games in our rooms, he could surprise you with concert tickets to a show you would think is sold out, he could blindfold you and drive you to Tokyo Disneyland, he'll do anything to make you happy. I remember once when we were thirteen, we snuck out of the apartment after dark, took a subway to Tokyo Dome City, and spent hours at the amusement park, and then took me to the Tokyo Tower in Minato for a panoramic view of all of Tokyo lit up in the darkness. What was better was that it was a cloudless night, so you could see the outline of Mt. Fuji in the darkness. You could see the Rainbow Bridge spanning Tokyo Bay, Shibuya Station crowded with hordes of people, and Kokyo all lit up, with the palace gardens illuminated with incandescent lanterns. I was amazed at how clear the view was. It was absolutely breathtaking. The only downside to the night was Auron scolding and grounding us for sneaking out of the apartment and back in at three in the morning. But then again, that night was so fantastic, it completely overshadowed that.

We also shared our most pensive and reflective moments with each other. Any time we were apart, which is usually never, we agree to meet up at a secluded alcove in Yoyogi Park in Shibuya that no one knows about. It may be a public park, but it's one of the largest in all of Tokyo, so there'd bound to be someplace that hasn't been discovered, right? Anyway. There's a small pond, small pagodas, water lilies, and it's all surrounded by tall sakura trees. It's all so very beautiful, especially in spring when the sakura blossoms are in full bloom. Tidus first showed me this part of the park on my twelfth birthday, but he's been coming here long before that- since he was nine. That pretty amazed me, I have to say. A nine year old taking the subway all by himself was pretty wild. "I come here to think," he told me. "To get away from the noise and the people." It's his very own secret garden, and I'm so very glad he thought I was trustworthy enough for him to show me this utopia of a garden.

Girls at school say they would kill to be me, if just for only a day. I can't blame them, not to sound egotistical or anything. At first, when I learned of my parents and their unfortunate endings, I thought I would be a prisoner, trapped in a penthouse, being forced to put on a façade of cheerfulness. But it turned out nothing like that. I have a loving uncle, great friends, a high grade point average, but most of all, I have Tidus. He's been so good to me, in some ways indescribable. At times I feel I don't deserve his friendship, his kindness, and most of all, his trust. But knowing that he cares for me deeply diminishes all those feelings, and right now, I'm pretty lucky to have a friend like him. It's not everyday that you run into a guy who could fulfill your every dream and wish.

No matter how much the boys at school try again and again to emulate him, and no matter how deathly the glares I get from other girls become, they'll just have to learn to live with the fact that Tidus wants only me.

To put it in layman's terms, Tidus is the undisputed epitome of faultlessness. He's everything any girl would want and then some. I mean, what girl wouldn't want someone like Tidus?

But like any quintessential "miserable girl meets life changing boy" story, there is a catch to this whole thing. A catch that I was afraid of from the beginning. One small minor detail that comes with the "perfect guy" deal.

I fell in love.

And what a plunge that fall was. It was as if I were pushed off the Roppongi Hills.

Some people think that I'm on something for thinking so negatively about something that seems so wonderful. But you're forgetting something very important.

Our fragile friendship.

Remember how I said that sooner or later, something would come back to bite me?

Boy, did it came back. And it came back with a _vengeance_.

Damn karma for being such a bitch.

I know I should be happy for having anything a girl could possibly want, but the fact that one wrong move and our friendship could be over keeps eating at me. It eats at me from the inside out, beginning with my heart. The very last thing I want to do is something that could drive Tidus away from me forever.

I can't imagine life without him.

On the other hand, I _could_ tell him.

"Go for it, Yuna!" You cheer for me.

Yeah! I _can_ tell him!

But then I'd have to kill myself afterwards.

-Sigh-

Either way, I'm in a lose-lose situation.

Sometimes…

"Sometimes… what?" a deep and masculine voice asks behind me.

My heart practically jumped out of my chest and onto the keyboard.

"AHH!" I shrieked. I fell off my chair and turned around to see Tidus behind me on the floor, clutching his heart.

"What did I do?" Tidus asked in bewilderment.

I gasped for breath, swallowing the air caught in my throat. I stumbled over my own words. "Wh-wh-wh… What are you doing here?"

'I… just came to see how things were going… Is that a problem?"

I shook my head. "No, no…"

I looked back at my computer screen. I swallowed hard.

"How… How much of that did you read?" I asked him in a frightened voice, pointing to my computer screen.

Tidus slowly got up, brushing himself off.

"I started at "Sometimes,"" Tidus replied to me. "Why?"

I heaved a sigh of relief. I was so glad that's all he read! I'd be devastated had he been there the entire time I was typing!

"Oh, thank god."

"Why?" Tidus asked again, helping me up. "Is it something top secret?"

I smiled widely and nodded. "Yep!"

"And you're not gonna tell me?" he guessed.

I shook my head, still smiling. "Nope!"

He nodded slowly and grinned mischievously, his left eyebrow raised. "Ah hah… Well, then…"

My smile faded and I eyed him suspiciously. "What are you thinking?"

Tidus closed his eyes dreamily and turned away from me smiling, with his hands behind his back and walking away from me.

"Oh nothing…"

He turned his head back to me, smirking the same mischievous smile.

"Except this!"

He dashed past me for the computer screen. He took the mouse in his hand and scrolled up the screen.

I looked on in horror as he began reading aloud.

"'Damn karma for being such a…' OOF!"

I pulled him away from the computer screen with all of my might, with my right arm wrapped around his waist, and my left covering his eyes from reading any further.

"Get away from there!" I squealed, laughing.

"Come on, Yunie-chan! Just a peek!" Tidus asked, using his pet name for me.

"NOOOO! That stuff is top secret!" I argued, still trying to hold him back.

"Oh, come on! We always share secrets!" He complained in a whiny voice. "Pweeeeeeaasseee?" He pleaded in a baby voice.

"If you think _that's_ gonna work on me- _again_…" I continued to walk backwards, but then I slipped on his flip flop that slipped off his foot when he rushed for the computer.

"Ahhh!" We both screamed in unison. I fell to the ground back first. Thank goodness that the floor is carpet- a very nice and _soft_ carpet at that.

I then felt a hundred-fifty pound body fall on top of me.

"OOF!" We both exclaimed.

I slowly lifted my head, shaking it softly, and felt Tidus pressing me down into the carpet.

"Ugh, Tidus, get… off… of me…" I asked, but slowed down mid-sentence when I looked down and noticed that both of his hands were groping my breasts.

Tidus stared wide-eyed at where his hands fell. I'm pretty sure that it was his perverted sub-conscience taking control of his psyche, but at any rate, despite of his shocked expression, I could tell he was enjoying it.

And, as much as I hate to admit it, I was enjoying it as well.

He slowly looked up at me, and I noticed at his chest was rising and lowering rapidly, his breath pattern hastening.

"Tidus…"

No reply.

"Tidus…" I repeated, my tone growing more irritated.

No sound. The only reply I got, though, was in his pants, and then, and only then, could I tell that he was _really_ enjoying this, provided that he didn't even _try_ to get his hands off of me.

"TIDUS!" I finally screamed.

He snapped back to reality and shook his head, his hands unintentionally moving around, which in turn made my breasts move in conjunction with his motions.

I gasped and, while I was really wishing that this would never end, put on an angry stare and slapped him hard across his face, knocking him off of me.

"PERVERT!" I screamed loudly, covering my chest with my arms.

Tidus was looking at the carpet while on his hands and knees, with his hand rubbing his right cheek where I slapped him.

I looked over to him and gasped in shock. I ran to his side and helped him sit up.

"Tidus! I'm so sorry!"

I rested his head in my lap and brushed some hair out of his face.

All he could do was chuckle and continue to massage is sore profile.

"No problem, Yunie-chan…" he reassured me, taking quick breaths. "If I were you, I probably would have done the same thing," he joked.

I giggled and moved his head onto the carpet. I stood up and ran over to my computer. I saved the document I was typing and closed the window.

I then logged off and set the computer to sleep mode.

I then turned to him, who was still sitting on the carpet with his legs open, wiping sweat off his face with his white shirt, and scratching his bare chest with his free hand.

"Tidus," I started.

He looked up to me and put his shirt down. "Yeah?"

"How's about you and me…" I walked over to my nightstand and grabbed my wallet. "… Catch a subway to Omotesando and do some shopping?"

He smiled and put his shirt back on. "I'd really like that."

I beamed widely and ran over to him, grabbing his muscular arm.

"Great! Let's go!"

Tidus kissed me on the forehead gently. He always does that. I love how gentle his kisses are. But just for once, I want those kisses to be on my lips.

"Shall we?" Tidus asked in a faux English accent, gesturing his other hand to let me lead the way.

I tugged his arm we left the room, ran down the stairs, through the apartment building and down to the subway station, laughing whole-heartedly along the way.

So this is my life now, living what most people call a storybook life: befriending the most perfect guy under the sun, and being the happiest girl in the world. But in my eyes, I'm anything but happy, because as long as I live, I'll always have to keep my true feelings for Tidus Sasaki under glass.

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How was that for the first chapter? To really capture the mind of a girl, I had my friend Kat help me think like a girl. Does that sound pathetic? I don't think so. Anyway, review this stuff please. Next chapter is in Tidus' point of view. Just so you know. So next chapter, It'll me just me thinking, Hahah.

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Oh yeah, before I forget, this is a key for all of that Japanese stuff mention in the chapter: 

_-nijusanku_: Japanese for "23 wards." By Japanese law, Tokyo is not an actual city, since Tokyo itself is a conglomeration of twenty-three different cities, called "wards," making it a metropolis rather than a city.  
-_Todai_: The Japanese name for the University of Tokyo  
-_Chan_: Japanese suffix used to refer to children, animals, and other people. Often used with people who have known each other since child hood  
-_Sama:_ Japanese honorific used to address one with great respect  
-_Kun:_ An intimate and informal honorific primarily used for men. Like _Chan,_ this usually requires at least some familiarity between the user and the one that is addressed.  
-There are many places mentioned in the chapter, most of which are the wards that make up the Tokyo metropolis. They are:

Adachi  
Arakawa  
Bunkyo (the ward where Auron, Tidus and Yuna live)  
Chiyoda (the ward where Yuna was born)  
Chuo  
Edogawa  
Itabashi  
Katsushika  
Kita  
Koto  
Meguro  
Minato  
Nakano  
Nerima  
Ota  
Setagaya  
Shibuya  
Shinagawa  
Shinjuku (the "capital" of the Tokyo Metropolis, since many of Tokyo's government buildings are in this ward)  
Sunigami  
Sumida  
Toshima  
Taito

All the landmarks I mentioned are actual places within Tokyo. I will list them all (in order I mentioned them in), along with where they are located and a short description of what it is:

**Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building** (Shinjuku; Tokyo's "city hall")  
**Ueno Zoo** (Taito; Japan's first and most famous zoo)  
**Shibuya Scramble Crossing** (Shibuya; The world's busiest intersection, with over one million people crossing the street _a day._ The world's busiest Starbucks is located at the intersection as well.)  
**Tokyo Disneyland** (Chiba Prefecture, north of Tokyo; The first Disney Park to be opened outside of the United States)  
**Tokyo Dome City** (Bunkyo; Tokyo Dome is the largest venue in Japan, with 55,000 seats, home to Tokyo's baseball team the Yomiuri Giants, and a number of very famous concerts have been held here, most notably Mariah Carey's record breaking concert held here in 1996, when she broke the Tokyo Dome's attendance record when she sold out 220,000 tickets for four concert shows in just under half an hour. The grounds also house a hotel resort and an amusement park)  
**Tokyo Tower** (Minato; Tokyo's equivalent to Paris' Eiffel Tower; only a couple hundred meters taller, but isn't as famous as its French counterpart.)  
**Mt. Fuji** (Shizuoka and Yamanashi Prefectures, west of Tokyo; Japan's highest mountain and synonymous with Eastern art)  
**Rainbow Bridge** (Minato; T double-decker suspension bridge spanning over Tokyo Bay. It's has solar-powered lighting fixtures on the cables that light red, green, and white. The lights gather their energy during the day, and automatically turn on at sunset.)  
**Shibuya Station** (Shibuya; Japan's third-busiest train station after Shibuya and Ikekuburo Stations. It handles 2.4 million people a day. The Shibuya Scramble Crossing is east of the station.)  
**Kokyo** (Chiyoda; The Imperial Palace and home to the Japanese Imperial Royal Family. Tokyo Station is not far from here.)  
**Yoyogi Park** (Shibuya; One of Tokyo's largest public parks.)  
**Roppongi Hills** (Minato; One of Japan's largest multi-purpose skyscrapers. Standing at 54 stories, inside it contains office space, apartments, shops, restaurants, cafés, movie theaters, a museum, a hotel, a major TV studio, an outdoor amphitheater, and parks.)  
**Omotesando** (Shibuya; One of Tokyo premier shopping districts/avenues. The recently completed shopping mall Omotesando Hills opened this year.)

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Review, please.

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	2. Tidus: I Wish You Knew

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Another chapter for you. I had a whole bunch of fresh ideas, and I wanted them to get onto Word before I forgot them. 

Oh yeah, sorry about some grammatical errors or typos you may have ran into in the last chapter. It was four in the morning, and was literally half asleep while I was typing. See how much I love you? I wouldn't sleep until I finished everything, even if it meant completely throwing off my sleep cycle. Anyway, this chapter is in Tidus' point of view. Jes' reminding anyone who has some sort of memory black out problem. Anyway, here I go.

We made our way down the lobby. The receptionist greeted us as we walked past the desk, along with other tenants that were lounging in the lobby. They were practically our extended family, with what living with them in the same building for over ten years and all.

* * *

As we stepped through the automatic sliding doors, I put on my jacket.

"Why do you have a jacket on?" Yuna asked me. "It's spring!"

I shrugged. "Well you never know. We could be out pretty late; we _are_ going shopping."

Yuna rolled her eyes, but deep down, she knows that I'm right.

We were immediately greeted by the blaring traffic noise and commuters yelling for buses and taxis. And this was just noontime. Imagine this street during rush hour, when _everyone_ is headed for work.

We walked together to the subway station, with my arm around Yuna's waist, holding her tightly against me. I noticed the many glances and stares we got from the people that passed us by. By the looks of their faces, I could tell what they were thinking.

"_They must be one happy couple."_

It may have not been that exact train of thought, but I had a gut feeling that it was along the lines of whatever they made of us. We arrived at the station, and I paid for out tickets while Yuna sat on a bench.

I walked over to her, making my way past the crowd of people waiting for the subway to arrive.

Yuna smiled at me and patted an empty space on the bench, motioning for me to sit down. I sat next to her, and I crossed my legs, waiting patiently for the subway to come.

I felt Yuna head rest on my shoulder and sighing loudly. I in turn rested my head on hers, taking in the sweet scent of her hair.

'_Wild strawberries,'_ I thought.

"How much longer before the train comes?" she asked me, taking my hand in her own, and making small farting sounds with them.

I laughed and checked my wristwatch. "Not much longer," I replied. "About five minutes."

She nodded slowly. "Mmm."

I know what you're thinking. We're the happiest couple in all the land, right? I wish. We're just friends- nothing more. And I couldn't have it any other way.

I love Yuna. But not in a boyfriend-girlfriend kind of love. But more along the lines of a brotherly-sisterly love. She's the sister I never had but always wanted.

Maybe I should start off from the beginning.

My mom died in a car crash when I was three. Of course I knew nothing of it at the time, because my family kept it from me. I knew they were trying to keep me from being hurt, but I would've preferred that they told me immediately. Family members don't keep things like that from their relatives, right? I'd like to think so.

I remember that my dad told me she went on a very long vacation, and that she wouldn't be back for some time. Being the naïve, innocent three year old I was at the time, I believed him. Life went on as usual, other than the absence of my mother of course. But as time went by, my dad started changing.

He started spending less time with me. It wasn't like before mom "went on a holiday." I began seeing less of him. More and more, I could feel him slipping away. It wasn't until I was four that my dad practically disappeared from my life. I remember waking up in a bed that wasn't mine. I looked around and found myself in a very spacious room. A giant door opened, and I saw my dad's friend Auron come in.

"Where's daddy?" I asked him.

He told me that he was with my mom, in a place called "heaven."

"Why did they leave me behind?" I asked again.

He told me that my dad said it was better that I stayed in Tokyo, while he went to his "heaven" place.

Auron continued on, saying that while my parents were gone, he was to take care of me.

So I lived with him for another year, with one question going through my mind: "when were my mom and dad coming home?"

When I was five, one day I was watching anime in my room, when I heard the front door open and close. I then heard Auron's voice calling me.

"Tidus-kun!" he yelled.

I ran out of my room, down the hall, and stopped at the top of the stairs. I saw him holding the hand of a little brunette girl that looked no older or younger than I was. I walked down the stairs and faced the girl and Auron.

I noticed that her eyes were two different colors. One would think, especially at my age, that a kid would make some insulting comment about them, but not me. I was taught way better than to do something so mean. Actually, I thought it was pretty cool. One was clear blue, and other was a vibrant green.

He introduced us to each other. He said her name was "Yuna."

'_Yuna,'_ I thought to myself. _'That's a pretty name.'_

"Good morning, Yuna-chan," I greeted my politest voice.

So that's how we met. I would go on, but I have a feeling you already know what happens. Anyway, Auron told me that we were going to be living together. I showed her to her new bedroom. That was also the day that changed my life, and also my outlook on the world.

Auron told Yuna that her parents died. She started crying immediately, and I tried to comfort her the second the first tear fell. There's something about a girl crying that always makes me sad and feel sorry for her.

A little bit after, Yuna fell silent. I noticed she cried herself to sleep, because she fell limp and the tears subsided.

Auron turned to me and told me that my parents were gone as well, and that they weren't coming back. He said my mom died in a car accident in Nishi-Shinjuku because of a drunken diver, and that my dad shot himself.

I remember feeling very dizzy at that time. Like someone punched me in the stomach. A million thoughts raced into my mind.

'_Why didn't my dad tell me that mom died?'_

'_Why was he trying to hide it form me?'_

'_Why did dad kill himself?'_

But one question made me feel more depressed than anything.

'_Why do I feel so alone?'_

I started crying, too. But I didn't make a sound, and tried to cover my face from Yuna. I couldn't cry in front of a girl, especially a pretty one like her, and one I barely knew. Most of all, boys didn't cry, and I was no exception.

But the sadness was overwhelming. I kept it bottled up at first. I went up to my room and closed the door. I lay on my bed, looking through the giant windows that gave me a view of Tokyo Bay and the surrounding wards. I finally gave into sorrow and felt hot tears fall down my face and onto the pillows and blankets. I stayed like that, and fell asleep as well, and didn't wake up until the next day.

I decided that day, to keep from being hurt again, that I would guard myself from anything that threatened my happiness.

After that day, Yuna began talking to me again. She said little things, like "Hello, Tidus-kun? How are you?" I was still determined to not to let anyone into my sanctum that protected me, but I didn't want to come off as an arrogant snob, so I replied, "I'm fine, Yuna-chan. Thank you for asking," and then I'd walk away.

I didn't feel good about practically avoiding Yuna, but what else could I do? I still didn't know her well, and as far as I was concerned, she could be trying to make nice with me until we were friends, and then break my heart, and betray our trust.

But I'm not one to think so ill of I didn't know, so I decided that she seemed nice and sincere enough to trust, so I slowly opened up to her. Slowly but surely, with emphasis on "slowly."

We would spend time together during the day, talking about small things. It went on like that for a couple of years, until we were eight I think. I finally decided that I could put full trust in her.

She was so happy that I decided to welcome her into my mind. But I could tell that behind her smile was a mind thinking something like "it took you long enough."

We became good friends, then eventually best friends.

I finally found someone who I could trust. I knew she would never betray my trust- she's way too innocent to do something so dreadful.

When we were about, oh, twelve or eleven, I decided that it was time I showed Yuna my secret garden. A place that I've been visiting since I was nine.

Don't tell anyone, but my secret garden is this little hideaway in Yoyogi Park. It's surrounded by cherry blossoms, pagodas, statuaries of geisha and samurai, and the centerpiece of it all was a glistening pond filled with water lilies, cherry blossom petals, and carp.

You know why it's my secret garden? Because I come here to think. I reflect on my life so far here. Auron and Yuna always ask me where I've been when I come back from this place, but I always come up with a creative lie.

Anyway, on her twelfth birthday, I took her on a subway ride to Shibuya, down to Yoyogi Park, and covered her eyes.

"What are you doing, Tidus-kun?" she asked in curiosity.

"You'll see, Yunie-chan," I replied, using my new nickname I thought for her.

I guided her through the park until we reached the place. I uncovered her eyes and I heard her inhale sharply.

"Happy birthday," I told her smiling.

She grinned at me and hugged me. She then kissed me on the cheek.

That marked the first time I was ever kissed by a girl.

The more time we spent together, the more inseparable we got. In school, she was the only person I talked to, minus teachers and authority figures of course. We spent lunch together everyday. I loved Yuna's company back then, not that I don't anymore. Hey, would I be on this shopping trip with her if I didn't?

Anyway, I suppose you want me to go into detail about how great Yuna is? Fine, I will.

Where should I start? I'll start off with her intelligence.

Yuna really is smart; she's in the top five of our class, and she gets perfect A's, so I guess that's saying something. I suppose I'm smart too, but only because we study together. I may be at the top of the class, but in my mind, Yuna will always be the smarter of us two.

Not only is Yuna smart, but she's smokin' hot to boot. She filled out quite nicely over the past years. Her hair grew down to her mid back, her curves became for voluptuous and sexually inviting, and she's getting hotter with every passing minute. Unlike the girls at our school, she doesn't stuff her bra to get attention, and with those kinds of breasts, she doesn't need to. Her breasts aren't huge, but she's not flat-chested. They're just the right size. Not that I'm looking or anything. –Cough- Anyway, er… her teeth are super shiny. I love her smile. It's so contagious- she makes me wanna smile right now. Anyway, her legs are very toned and they go on for miles, even though she's not exactly the tallest girl in the world. Her legs… what I wouldn't give to run my hands up them and… I mean… oh shit. I should move on to something else. How about… her nails? Yeah, that's it. Her finger and toe nails are very well manicured and pedicured. But she doesn't go to some boutique to get them done; she does them herself, believe it or not. She's really talented that way. Now that I think of it, my nails are pretty long, so maybe I can ask her to clean them for me later.

Yuna is very obedient, and she does whatever she's told. But she's not _that_ submissive guys, so don't get any ideas. Anyway, at first, her clothing was rather demure. One would say she's a wet blanket, because she refuses to do anything that will get her even in the slightest bit of trouble. But I got her to loosen up, and she's almost as wild as I can be, and I'm a guy that likes to have fun. She also began wearing revealing outfits and stiletto heels, while still retaining her dignity and self respect. Take right now for example: Her chestnut hair is straight down; she's wearing a black form-fitting camisole showing off her curves, a white Chanel miniskirt with baby blue polka dots, and high-heeled platform sandalettes. She's showing a lot of skin right now, but, while doing that, she keeps her innocent girl charm. When I think about it, she does look very sexy right now…

Ahem. Anyway, Yuna's pretty independent and won't change for anyone. Once, she had a part-time job at a nail salon, but she quit. She told me that "Yuna" wasn't good enough a name to work at their salon, and they attempted to change her name to something more festive. She said they decided to call her "Ichigo," and in my opinion, "Yuna" sounds _way_ more festive than a name that means "strawberry" in Japanese. Yuna fought back, saying that she wouldn't change her name just because "Yuna" isn't good enough for them. Good for her. That's what I like about her: she always knows what she wants.

Simply put, Yuna is the perfect girl. She's everything I want in a girl and more. I really feel lucky to have her as a friend. I wouldn't trade anything for our friendship. She's the only person in the world I can trust.

"Tidus," Yuna spoke.

I shook my head and looked at her.

"Yes, Yuna-chan?"

She got up and dusted her skirt off. "Subway's here," she told me, pointing her thumb at the subway that just arrived.

I nodded and got up as well. I flattened out my khaki cargo shorts and adjusted my Converse shoes and my low-rise ankle socks. We boarded the already crammed subway car and the doors closed.

The subway always makes me feel claustrophobic. People are literally jammed together and packed in like sardines. Yuna and I were also in a very awkward standing position.

Our fronts pressed against each other. Very, _very_ tightly.

The subway began moving and it put me in a very embarrassing spot: our hips were grinding against each other.

I grabbed onto a ceiling rail to keep myself in balance as the train moved and wrapped my other arm around Yuna's waist so that she wouldn't fall. I felt her snake both arms around my own waist, her arms barely wrapping around me completely due to my bulky and muscular frame.

"Ow," Yuna squeaked.

"What?" I asked concerned as I looked down at her.

"You're poking me…" Yuna replied sheepishly.

I raised an eyebrow.

"What are you…" I started, confused, but it slowly registered in my mind what she meant by "poking."

"Ahhh… Sorry, Yuna-chan."

She shook her head. "It's okay. Just… make it go down…"

I shook my head in reply. "I… can't. It's too crowded…"

We stayed like that the entire ride, shifting against each other's bodies as the train moved. Suddenly we came to a stop. I looked out the closest window, but saw no depot around.

"What's going on, Tidus-kun?" Yuna asked, adjusting her top and moving her breasts around.

I stared at her chest as she did that. I could feel a nosebleed coming on…

"Did you hear me?" she asked me again.

I snapped out of my daze. "Huh?" I asked stupidly.

She sighed. "What's going on?" she repeated.

"Oh… I don't know, Yunie-chan." I replied.

Just then a voice on the PA system came on.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but the subway is temporarily broken down. We will get it repaired immediately."

I sighed and looked down at Yuna, who was resting her head on my chest.

She whispered to me that I was starting to poke her again…

This was going to be a _long_ day.

SHIBUYA STATION

After getting stuck in a subway with Yuna, and about three hundred other commuters, the maintenance team finally got the subway systems working. We got to Shibuya Station, and joined the thousands of people waiting for the intersection lights to turn green for the pedestrians.

I felt Yuna take my hand in hers again, and tangled my fingers with her own.

"I love this intersection," Yuna told me.

I looked down at her and smiled. "Hey, you wanna stop by Starbucks before we go to Omotesando?"

She nodded. "Sure."

As if on cue, the street lights switched from red to green, and the thousands of people flooded the intersection. We joined in and walked across the street.

We dodged countless of people, trying to make our way across.

"Excuse me. Pardon me. Excuse me."

Just as the cars began moving, we made it to the other side.

OMOTESANDO HILLS

After getting our Caramel Macchiatos, we caught a bus to make us to Omotesando Hills, the new shopping mall. Neither of us has ever been, but Yuna's friends tell us that it's definitely worth going to.

We walked inside and it was full of stores and people. Yuna squealed in delight and took me by the hand. She let her feminine instincts take over and literally _dragged_ me to every damn store in the mall.

…..

So it's a few minutes past six, and we're sitting on a bench, still in the mall. As you'd expect, Yuna made _me_ pay for everything, made _me_ carry all the bags, and made _me_ put up with three hours of "do you like this better?" "Does this make me look fat?" "Go check if they have this in size small!" "Do I look better in crimson, or red?" Does it matter? I personally can't tell the damn difference- they're the exact same color! But tell that to a girl- they won't listen.

But despite that, she was really happy, and whatever makes her happy makes me happy. Before we finally sat down for a break, we stopped by this pastry shop called "Omotesandosaryo." They made really good pies I have to say.

Yuna wiped her sticky fingers on a napkin and laughed as I attempted to smash the pastry in her face. She narrowly dodged it by moving her head to the side, and she grabbed my hand and smashed it all over my face.

"Ahhh!"

I laughed and grabbed a napkin to wipe my face off.

"You're very tricky dickey, you know that?" I told her, wagging a finger at her.

She smirked and leaned into me, licked a bit of frosting off my neck.

I trembled slightly, feeling her tongue run down the nape of my neck in an almost _seductive_ manner.

"Yes, I do," she replied smartly, pulling back from me.

I could feel stares glued on us as we played, but neither of us cared.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of water. She took the cap off and took long drink.

I wiped off the last few bits of sugar off my brow and crumpled up the wrapper.

She offered me her water bottle and I took it, thanking her.

I took a drink and wiped my mouth.

Yuna got up from her seat.

"I'm gonna use the restroom," she told me.

I nodded, capping the water bottle. "Yeah."

She began to walk away, but stopped to look back at me.

"Make sure no one takes my bags!"

I sighed exasperatedly. "Yes, mom," I replied sarcastically. She giggled in reply.

"Okay! I'm just saying is all." She yelled defensively as she began to walk away.

"Man, go pee," I told her.

She seemed to have heard me, because she held her hand up as if to say "talk to the hand."

I gathered the shopping bags around me to make sure they didn't get stolen.

As I waited, a guy that looked around my age sat next to me.

He turned to me and waved. "Hey."

I slowly turned to him and smiled lopsidedly. "Hey."

After a little silence, he made the kind of whistling sound that you hear in anime when a bomb is about to drop or something. He drummed his fingers on his lap. Then he spoke up again.

"Was that your girlfriend?"

I shook my head. "Naw. She's just a friend."

He shrugged. "I dunno. She seems to really like you."

I looked toward the marble floor, my eyes shifting around.

"I don't know. Who really knows what a girl's really thinking?" I asked rhetorically.

He laughed at my statement. "You got a point, man. But if I were you, I'd look into that. She's a real keeper. If you don't make your move now, she might start looking for someone else."

I nodded slowly, taking another drink of water nervously. I let what he said sink in for a minute.

"Do you like her?" he asked again.

'_Damn, what is this? Twenty Questions?'_

I decided to play along. "I don't know. I like her as a best friend."

"You sure not more than just a friend?" he asked me again.

I fell silent.

He chuckled. "You go and think about that."

Just then, a girl with dark brown hair and blonde highlights walked up to us. The guy smiled at her and stood up to peck her on the lips. They seemed to be a couple. I had to admit, they _did_ look good together.

I felt him pat me on the back softly.

"Nice talkin' to you, man. Remember what I said," he told me before taking off with the girl.

I smiled at him and waved back.

I rested my elbow on my leg and rubbed my chin, pondering what he told me.

'_If you don't make your move now, she might start looking for someone else.'_

"Who was that guy?" a feminine voice asked.

I looked up to see Yuna smiling down at me.

"Oh… Just a guy."

Yuna bent down so that she made eye contact with me.

"You know him?"

I shook my head and ran a hand through my hair. "Naw."

She chuckled and bent down, resting her hands on my leg.

"For someone you don't know, you sure looked like you guys were in deep conversation."

My eyes shifted from the floor to her eyes. Back and forth. I shook my head, smiling.

"Whatever, Yunie-chan."

She smiled and giggled quietly. I reached over to her to tuck a few brown tresses of hair behind her ear. I rested my hand on her cheek, running my thumb over her soft, satin skin.

She put her hand on my own. God, her hands felt good. They put mine to shame. My fingers were rough and calloused, while hers were perfect and flawless.

I leaned into her, and she moved closer to me. Our faces were soon centimeters away. Our lips were just about to touch…

But then Yuna look down, as if she were ashamed or something. She licked her lips, and kissed me.

Not on the lips, though, but on the cheek.

She cleared her throat nervously and adjusted her skirt, dusting off pastry crumbs that were still stuck on her.

She got up slowly and extended her hand to me. I took it and she helped me up.

"I think… it's time we went home…" Yuna stated quietly.

I nodded in compliance. "Yeah. It's getting kind of late. I don't think Auron-sama would appreciate us coming home after dark."

"Again." Yuna added jokingly.

We both chuckled simultaneously, breaking the tension.

We picked up her bags- notice that I didn't say "our," but "her"- and headed towards the exit.

We waited outside of the mall to wait for a bus to take us back to Shibuya Station. I glanced over to Yuna, who was shivering quite noticeably due to her half-naked self.

"I told you it was gonna get cold," I told Yuna in a "sing-song" tone.

Yuna rolled her eyes and pushed me lightly, giggling softly. "Be quiet."

I put down the bags that I was holding and took off my jacket. I wrapped my jacket around Yuna's torso. She thanked me quietly and stuck her arms into the sleeves and pulled up the zipper.

"Any better?" I asked.

She nodded and smiled. "Yeah. Thank you Tidus-kun."

I shook my head. "No problem."

I crept up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist, hoping to warm her up some, if any. I rested my chin on her shoulder and looked at her. She looked back at me, our faces very close together, and kissed my chin. I smiled warmly at her, and stared toward the street, looking for the bus.

THE APARTMENT

Luckily, we made it home before Auron. We found it weird, because Auron is usually home before seven, and we got home at eight-thirty, meaning he was working overtime, or traffic was really bad tonight.

We walked up to her room and I opened the door for her, letting her in before me. She told me to settle the bags at her bedside and I lay on her bed, exhausted. I reached for her TV remote and turned the TV on and began channel surfing.

Yuna came out of the washroom, brushing her hair. She set the hairbrush on the counter and jumped on the bed to join me, shaking the mattress somewhat. She took the remote out of my hand and turned the television off. She then set the remote next to me. She climb on top of me and sat on my stomach. I smiled up at her and brushed a her strands of hair out of her eyes. She stretched her arms out tiredly and yawned very loudly. As she stretched, I noticed her skirt ride up considerably. I caught a glimpse of her white panties, and I swallowed hard.

'_Here comes that nosebleed again.'_

Her arms collapsed to her sides, causing her breasts to shake, and she leaned forward, unintentionally showing more cleavage than I needed to see, and it clearly wasn't helping my oncoming nosebleed. I held my index finger under my nostrils to keep blood from coming out.

I sat up and picked her up in my arms. I threw her on the bed and she laughed hard. I looked down at her. The position she was in- her looking up at me, chocolate locks sprawled over the pillows, her shirt riding up, exposing her toned belly, and her inviting bosom- it wasn't exactly helping me right now.

"Thank you for shopping with me," Yuna whispered to me. "Even though you didn't get to buy anything."

I shook my head. "No trouble at all, Yunie-chan. I had a great time anyway."

Yuna sat up and kissed me on the neck and wrapped her arms around me. I enveloped her in my embrace and held her close to me.

We stayed like that for a minute, and then she let go. I quickly got off her bed and power walked toward the door to get to my room.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

I covered my nose as I felt blood start coming out of my nostrils.

"I uh… I'm gonna call it a night."

I couldn't begin to tell you how stupid I sounded, what with my voice sounding as if I was congested or something.

"But it's eight forty-five," Yuna replied.

"Well, I'm pretty tired," I said.

I could hear her yawn one more time.

"Yeah, I am too. Good night, Tidus-kun." She called to me as I opened the door.

I stepped out into the hallway. "Good night, Yuna-chan. I love you."

There was a pause from her. She didn't say anything for a moment. I could have sworn I heard her sniffle, like she was crying, but I shrugged it off and thought her nose was runny. Then she finally spoke.

"I love you too, Tidus…"

I waved goodnight and closed the door.

I quickly ran into my room next to Yuna's and slammed the door behind me. I sprinted to the sink as I felt blood run down my arm.

I turned the water on and washed my hands and arms off, getting the blood off. I took a couple of tissues from the Kleenex box next to me and stuck them up my nose to suppress the bleeding. I sighed loudly and looked at my reflection in the mirror. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. After a couple of minutes, I felt the bleeding stop. I pulled out the tissues from my nostrils and threw them away in a nearby trash can.

I felt pretty dirty right about now, so I headed into the bathroom for a nice, hot bath. I stripped myself of my clothing and turned the hot water in the large, square bathtub. As I waited for the tub to fill up, I sat on the toilet, naked, and reached into the magazine rack for a pop culture magazine.

When the water filled the tub, I put the magazine away and turned the water off. I slowly stepped into the tub.

I let my muscles loosen up and reclined in my position. I cupped some water in my hand and spilled it on my head, wetting my shaggy hair. I pulled the blinds of a window next to me up and revealed the skyline of Tokyo all lit up. I sighed at the sight, smiling and recalling the day's events.

Just then, that guy's words came back to mind.

'_If I were you, I'd look into that. She's a real keeper. If you don't make your move now, she might start looking for someone else.'_

He _did_ kind of have a point. We have this best friend relationship, but we act as if we're a full-fledged couple.

I think she's attractive and all. I think she's really smart. She has a great personality. She's the only person that took the time to get to know me.

I thought about that.

Why _did_ she take the time to get to know me?

She could have just left me alone, but she didn't. Why did she put so much effort into trying to break through to me? She spent three years of her life attempting to make friends with me. No one ever spent that much time and effort with me before.

This is really hurting my head. I'll think about it later.

The second part of what that guy said got to me too.

'_If you don't make your move now, she might start looking for someone else.'_

I can't really picture Yuna with another guy. Probably because we spend so much time together.

But if she _were_ to fall in love with someone else… What would become of us?

We would start seeing less of each other. She wouldn't smile to me the same. We couldn't carry on a normal conversation like we used to. Nothing would be the same. What would I do without Yuna? Yuna would be spending more time with him than with me. And what happens to me then? I'd have to rebuild everything again. Make new friends. Doing that while getting rid of my feelings for her would be tough for sure.

No.

Absolutely not.

Yuna would never throw away nine years worth of friendship and memories, especially just because of a boy. It simply isn't Yuna.

But there's always that possibility that she could.

Dammit.

Why am I thinking so deeply about it, anyway? Why do I even care? It's Yuna's life, not mine.

I could feel my fists ball up subconsciously.

Why am I so mad?

_Because I love her._

I love Yuna! Plain and simple! I can't believe I missed it! That stupid, nagging little voice in my head had to practically spell it out for me. How blockheaded could I possibly be?

But then another question popped up.

Does she love me back?

There is a chance she could!

I practically started dancing in the tub.

But then there's another chance she doesn't.

I slumped back and threw my head back in confusion.

She did _almost_ kiss me at the mall today…

But she did pull away at the end, like she didn't want to.

Damn, this is confusing? Why am I thinking about it anyway! Didn't I take this bath so I could relax and _not_ think?

Damn that guy and his oh so true words. I looked up at the clock on the wall. It was ten-o-clock.

Already? It felt as if it's been _way_ shorter than that. Time flies when you wonder about a would-be boyfriend-girlfriend relationship between you and a best friend of nine years.

I pull the plug on the drain I stretched my muscles out.

"Ahhh… I really needed that," I spoke out loud.

I got up to wipe the water off my arms and legs. I reach for a towel on the towel rack on the wall when…

The door flies open, and the person that opened it is none other than Yuna.

She was holding one of the shopping bags and digging for something in it, while her head was inside it.

"Tidus-kun, I heard your cell phone go off. It fell in the bag." She pulled out my cell phone and held it out to me. "You missed a…"

She stared at me in shock, and I in turn stared at her in horror.

We stood frozen for a few minutes. It's pretty hard to do anything when your best friend- a girl no less- walks in on you _completely_ naked.

"Tidus… You're _huge_…" she uttered.

I raised an eyebrow and shook my head, not believing what I just heard. "Excuse me?"

"I mean naked! You're… I…" and then she ran out and slammed the door shut.

I couldn't help but laugh at the poor girl. I took the towel I was holding and wrapped it around my waist. Then another question hit me.

"Am I _that_ big?"

I shrugged it off and picked up my cell phone. I looked at the caller ID, and it read "Missed one call: Satan." I laughed to myself.

"Auron-sama."

The whole "Satan" thing is just a joke. I hope you know that.

I opened the door. I looked around for Yuna, and found her on my bed, sitting on the side with her hands between her legs and her face looking down. I set my phone on the counter and wiped my hands on the towel.

"Yunie-chan…" I called.

She looked up, her face still flushed. She ran to me and clung onto my neck.

"Tidus-kun, I'm so sorry! I don't know what I was thinking!"

I laughed and told her to settle down. "It's okay, it's okay. Sooner or later, it was bound to happen. With what and us living together and all…"

She smiled and rested her head on my chest and wrapped her arms around my waist.

I snaked my arms around her own waist and rested my head on hers.

She let go of me and wiped the water off of her.

"Eww…"

I laughed and leaned on the counter with an arm and rested my other hand on my hip.

"What? It's just water."

Yuna wiped her hands on a paper towel.

"Maybe. But you can't be too careful about what _any_ liquid is on someone when they come out of the shower, especially with _men._" Yuna reasoned, emphasizing last word.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't do _that_, Yuna. And even if I did, everyone knows that you don't do it when you take a bath, because it just makes that much more of a mess."

She folded her arms. "Whatever." She kissed me on the cheek, and another on my right pec.

"Goodnight, Tidus-kun."

I kissed her back on the cheek. "Goodnight. And thanks for returning my phone."

Yuna headed for the door and opened it. "No problem. Goodnight." She left, and closed the door behind her.

I sighed and headed for my closet. I pulled off my towel and lazily tossed it on the carpet. I didn't bother with underwear, so I just reached for a pair of dark blue pajama bottoms and slipped them on. I walked towards my bed and yawned loudly. I jumped on the bed and landed on it belly first. I rolled over on my back and rested my head on the pillows. I reached behind me for the light switch to turn the lights off. I scratched my chest tiredly and turned my head to the right. I looked through the windows, taking in the view of Tokyo at night. It wasn't long after that I succumbed into exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.

But before I fell asleep, there was one last thing on my mind: for all I knew, Yuna probably considers me as a best friend and the big brother she never had, and nothing more than that. And if that's truly the case, one false move could break my happiness, and ultimately our friendship. So as long as I'm alive, I'll just have to keep my love for Yuna Kuriyama under glass.

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This is probably the longest chapter I have ever written for any of my stories. It took up twenty-seven pages on word. Hmm. I don't think I'll have to define anything Japanese in this chapter, but if you are wondering something, then ask me about it in your review. Review, please.

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	3. Yuna: Broken Glass

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Chapter three! Isn't this exciting? Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed so far (along with my other stories). No review goes unappreciated. Unless it's defaming. I guess it's safe to say that a lot of what happened in the last chapter is semi-autobiographical, and the way Yuna descibes Tidus- other than the whole body thing, with me being skinny- is the way my friend who was helping me write that chapter describes me. Anyway, if you're slow, I'll remind you that this one is from Yuna's point of view this time. I may have to call one of my girl friends to help me again, Hahah. Let's hope not. I think I know enough to know what goes through a girl's mind. But, and I'm quoting Tidus from the last chapter, who really knows what a girl's really thinking? Okay. I've rambled enough. I'll just get on with it.

* * *

I felt the sun hit my eyelids. I tightly shut my eyes more and pulled the comforter over my head and curling myself up into a fetal position.

"Yuna-chan," I heard a gruff voice call me from outside of my door. I heard the man knock again. "Wake up, sweetheart. Time for school."

It was Auron, I concluded. He didn't come in, though. I heard him walk over to Tidus' room and knock on his door, telling him to wake up.

I sighed and pushed the covers off of me. I sat up slowly, yawning loudly and stretching lazily. I looked out the window and I was greeted with a bird's eye view of The Tokyo skyline. I got off my bed and slipped on my Hello Kitty slippers, and dragged my feet over to the bathroom.

After doing my business, I washed my hands and brushed my tangled hair out.

I trudged lazily over to my closet and pulled out my _sailor fuku_ uniform. I rid myself of my spaghetti strapped, mid-thigh length baby blue nightie and slipped into a clean bra and panties. I dressed myself in my uniform and dug through a drawer full of socks. I pulled out a pair of fresh, bleach-white socks that went almost up to my knee and slipped them on my legs.

I walked out of my room and looked both ways down the hall. I saw no one, and I tip-toed my way next door to Tidus' bedroom. I knocked on his door silently, not wanting to cause any sound.

"Tidus-kun," I whispered quietly, but loud enough so that he could hear me.

I heard nothing.

"Tidus-kun," I repeated, only marginally louder.

I turned the knob slowly and cautiously poked my head in. After our embarrassing mishap last night, I decided that I just won't walk into his room anymore like I used to.

I looked around and scanned the room. I turned my attention to the bed and saw Tidus fast asleep, with a peaceful smile on his face, and holding a pillow close to him.

I quietly made my way toward the bed and I kneeled on the side.

I could hear him breathing softly, and watched his bare chest rise and fall slowly. His pajama bottoms were a little too big for him, but they looked cute all the same. I noticed that they were kind of barely hanging onto his waist, and I took note that his butt crack was slightly showing. I looked down, embarrassed at what I saw, and I climbed on the bed, hoping not to shake the mattress.

I shook his shoulder softly.

"Wake up," I whispered in his ear.

He seemed to have heard me, because he grunted softly.

His legs moved and he buried his face in the pillow he was holding.

I sighed quietly.

"Tidus-kun, wake up." I spoke, shaking him a little harder.

He moaned loudly and stretched his arms out, still lying on the bed, causing his back muscles to flex.

I placed my hands on his warm back and shook him hard.

"Time for school!" I exclaimed.

He groaned and turned his head to the left so that he was facing the windows.

"Ughh… Don't remind me," he mumbled lazily.

I giggled and climbed on top of him. I lied down on him and snaked my arms between his stomach and the mattress to wrap them around him. I rested my chin on his neck and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled goofily at me and kissed me back on my nose.

"Did you know you cuddle in your sleep?" I told him.

"I do not," he shot back, refusing to accept the fact that he does such a thing.

"Men don't cuddle," he added, feigning arrogance.

I rolled my eyes. "What is it with men and that dumb macho attitude?"

"Hey, it may be dumb, but at least we have our pride."

I sighed.

"You do so cuddle!" I countered. "And I think it's really cute."

He smiled and closed his eyes. "Well, maybe I _do_ cuddle a little bit…" he said, as if I changed his mind when I told him how cute he was.

I laughed silently and soon, silence fell over us.

Just then, he spoke.

"I'm hungry," he whispered.

I smiled back at him and looked him in the eye.

"What do you want?" I asked him, running my lips over his spiky stubble, feeling the prickliness.

He moaned quietly and closed his eyes dreamily.

"Umm… food?"

I laughed at him and took in the scent of his blonde hair.

"You smell nice," I complimented.

He laughed tiredly. "Thank you?" he replied questioningly.

I giggled and began tickling his belly.

He laughed loudly and started writhing and squirming.

No matter how muscular and beefy he got, he would always be ticklish.

"Stop!" he pleaded mid-laugh.

"Not until you're awake!" I stated.

"I'm up, I'm up!" he yelled defensively. "Jeez…"

My laughter died down and I kissed his back, pressing myself deeper into him.

"Uhh…" he moaned.

"Hmm?" I asked, looking at him.

"You're breasts feel good…" He said to me mindlessly, as if he didn't think that over before it blurted out of his mouth.

My faced reddened to the point that my cheeks were as crimson as the red sun on the Japanese flag.

"Excuse me?" I yelled, sitting up, but not getting off of him.

He seemed to snap out of whatever perverted fairy land he was in.

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I mean… Ummm…"

I shook my head rapidly, my long hair flying in every which direction.

"Ewwwwwwww!" I cringed. I quickly got off of him and pushed him away from me. Apparently, I pushed him hard enough that he rolled off the bed with a loud thud.

"OW!" I heard from the floor.

I guess I don't know my own strength.

I jumped off the bed and crawled over to his side. He was lying on his back, rubbing his sore bottom.

"I'm so sorry!" I apologized. I took his head and rested it on my lap.

He opened his eyes and looked up at me. My hair fell and fell like rain.

He raised his hand weakly and waved it, as if to say "it's alright."

"Are you okay?" I asked dumbly.

He grinned lopsidedly and closed his eyes. "Mmm' hmm."

"Good," I simply stated. I got up and let his head drop to the carpet with a thump.

"Ow!" he uttered.

I walked over to the window and looked out to the view with my arms folded in front of my chest, my back turned to him.

"What did you do that for?" He asked bewildered, propping himself up by putting his weight on his right arm, with his left hand rubbing his head.

I turned to him stomped over to his side and crouched down and looked him in the eye.

"Serves you right for saying that to me!" I pouted. I poked him in the stomach, and he squirmed back in response. "You Filthy McNasty…"

"I thought you would take it as a compliment!" he exclaimed stupidly.

"That's what I expected from a _guy."_ I retorted snobbishly. "Honestly Tidus, you are the dirtiest, most raciest person I have ever met."

I didn't notice it right then, but he was looking up my skirt. I could tell when he licked his lips slowly and by the fact that a tiny drop of blood fell from his nostril and onto his chest. I looked down in embarrassment and closed my legs quickly.

"Ugh!" I yelled. I started slapping his chest, beating it like he was a pair of bongos. "Will you ever learn?"

"Ow! Owwww! Stop, please!" he pleaded. "I'm sorry!"

I didn't say anything, but I stopped patting his chest. I got up, and stomped over to the door. He got up and looked at me dumbly.

"Go get dressed and I'll meet you downstairs!" I ordered. I opened the door, got out of the room, and slammed it behind me.

I pressed my back toward the door and leaned on it.

'_Why does he keep giving me these love-sick stares? And does he _really_ have to stare down my shirt or my skirt _ever damn_ opportunity he gets? Why does he do that?'_

Then it clicked in my mind.

Of course!

"Because he's a pervert!" I concluded, saying it out loud. I smiled and made my way down the stairs and toward the kitchen.

I saw Auron at the dining table, reading _Tokyo Shimbun_, and eating miso soup, white rice, daikon, and _Yakizakana_, and a cup of tea.

"_Ohayo_, Yuna-chan," he greeted, not taking his eyes off the newspaper he was reading.

"_Ohayo Gozaimasu_," I replied politely, bowing. I took a seat at the table in front of a meal sitting in front of me and picked up a pair of chopsticks next to me.

"Where's Tidus-kun?" he asked me as I broke the wooden chopsticks apart.

"He's getting ready," I replied and picked up a clump of rice.

He nodded and continued eating and reading.

A few minutes later, Tidus came running into the kitchen, buttoning up his white long-sleeved dress shirt and adjusting his khaki dress pants

"Ohayo!" He spoke out of breath, waving at us.

Auron and I smiled at him and went on with our meals. He took a seat next across from me as a maid laid the same meal I was having in front of him.

"_Arigato,"_ he thanked her.

"_Do itashimashite," _she replied. She bowed and left the room.

We continued and finished breakfast in silence. Auron was the first to leave as he grabbed his car keys and bid us goodbye and to be productive in school, just as he always does.

Tidus and I took our dishes to the sink and rinsed them off quickly and left them in the sink.

We ran up to our rooms to brush our teeth and gather our book bags.

Before we left the apartment, we yelled out goodbye to the servants and closed the door behind us.

We walked down the street to the subway station together, making our way past the people on the sidewalks.

Then, Tidus finally spoke up, breaking the silence between us.

"I'm sorry, Yunie-chan," he apologized again, referring to our mishap earlier.

"Its okay, Tidus-kun." We continued to walk in silence.

ZEN ARUKANDO HIGH SCHOOL, SHINJUKU

We made it to Zen Arukando High School, the school Tidus and I attend. I don't know if I told you, but we're all in the same classes, except gym, so that contributes more to our inseparability. I'm just saying.

Anyway, we walked down the hall side-by-side, making our way past groups of people talking about pop culture, celebrity gossip, stem cell research, you know, things you expect average teenagers to converse about.

We made it to our classroom and we sat at a desk together.

I saw my four best friends, other than Tidus, Rikku Aoyama, Lulu Watanabe, and Wakka Ogawa.

Tidus and I smiled at them, and they walked over to us.

I guess you'd expect some introduction to them right? You'd be right.

Rikku is a good friend of five years. We met when we were twelve. She's pretty upbeat- like she drinks five caffeine filled lattes a day, and _loves_ _ganguro_ fashion. She's your quintessential follower of the ganguro trend: blonde, highlighted hair, tanned skin, a killer, slender body, spends most of her time shopping and in Shibuya and Ikebukuro, and overly decorated accessories, like her cell phone for example. She keeps it constantly covered in _purikura_ and little trinkets. She reminds me of those western, American girls that call the beach their second home and spend hours upon hours shopping. She gets in a notable amount of trouble with teachers on a daily basis because of her uniform violations. Like any "teeny-bopper" of sorts, she tries to bend the uniform policy and decorates her backpack with key chains and patches, and alters her skirts to mini-skirts, wears loose socks, and has outrageous hair styles. But beyond all that, she really is a good girl, and easily befriends people. She's also smarter than she lets others on to believe. She gets mostly A's, with one or two B's on the side, but on a very rare occasion does she get a B. One more thing, other than her signature ganguro appearance, she has another trademark: her contact lens. She wears green contact lens with a distinct swirl design on them. She says it's to differentiate herself from other ganguro girls, and boy does it make her stand out. It's practically the first thing that you notice about her, like how people always say that my bi-colored eyes makes me stand out from everyone. But I can't blame them; how often do you see a girl with two different eye colors?

Wakka was a new here a few years ago. He moved here from Hawaii, so that explains his Hawaiian or Pacific Islander accent. But he's part Japanese from his mother's side, and he's fluent in both English and Japanese. He was actually born here, but, because his father was in the US Navy, he was stationed in Hawaii until two years ago, he came back to Tokyo. His father retired shortly after that, so now Wakka's here to stay. He's got a killer tan, mostly from time surfing in Hawaii. He's very much an average student. You know, a B plus average. But he _is_ smart; he just doesn't apply himself as much as he could. I guess you could say that he's lazy, which he is, but not to the extent you would think. He's rather active, and pretty muscular- like Tidus. But personally, I prefer Tidus' body. Anyway, he's really a sweet guy, and, like Tidus, he's like a big brother to me. Tidus talks to him sometimes, and they have a lot in common, but Tidus still doesn't know a lot about him, so he hasn't developed the best friend relationship you'd think they'd have. He also has his on-again, off-again relationship with Lulu. But then again, who didn't see that one coming?

Lulu is like my big sister, while Rikku is like my little sister. She's the, what I like to consider, the polar opposite to Rikku. She follows the gothic Lolita fashion, and spends a lot of her time in the Harajuku district. As you'd expect, she's very smart, probably the smartest of the three. She's pretty, in the intellectual way, and she doesn't really talk much. One thing _does_ stand out about her, and it's her chest. She's very busty to say the least. When I think about it… Why does Tidus prefer my breasts over hers, when mine are like ant hills compared to hers? Maybe because he's known me longer? I guess that's it. Whatever. Guys are too complex.

"Ohayo, Yuna-chan!" Wakka exclaimed to me, catching me in a hug.

I laughed happily and hugged him back.

"Ohayo, Wakka-kun."

I greeted Lulu and Rikku we started talking, while Tidus and Wakka began their own conversation.

"They sure look like they're hitting it off," Rikku observed, gesturing at them.

Lulu and I turned our heads toward them as they talked.

"Yeah," I agreed. Maybe Tidus finally found another person he could connect with. It took him long enough.

"So Yuna," Lulu began turning her attention toward me.

I turned my head to her. "Yeah?" I asked, brushing a few strands of hair out of my eyes.

"Rikku and I saw you and Tidus at Omotesando Hills yesterday," Lulu said.

My eyes widened. "What? Why didn't you join us?"

Rikku giggled. "We were having too much fun watching you flirt with Tidus-kun."

I gasped and looked down at the desk, trying to hide my flushed cheeks. I then looked up at them.

"I was _not_ flirting!"

Lulu scoffed. "Yeah; licking someone's neck definitely isn't a sign of affection."

I sighed exasperatedly. "It was _frosting!_ I was trying to get frosting off of his neck!"

"Then why didn't you wipe it off with a napkin like any other normal human being?" Rikku shot back.

I froze.

'_Because I love him.'_

I shook the thought out of my head. I couldn't tell _them _that! Even if they _were_ my best friends! I promised myself that I would keep it a secret, no matter how much I wanted to tell someone.

Rikku and Lulu grinned.

"Yuna loves Tidus…" they taunted in a sing-song voice.

"I do not!" I retorted.

But who was I kidding? I loved Tidus more than anything. The need to tell someone was growing. But I fought it and pushed it back down.

I promised myself I would _not_ tell _anyone_.

"I do not!" I screamed.

Just then, a girl with dark brown and black hair walked up to us.

Dona Suzuki.

She was a girl in our class. She's… how can I say it? …She's been around… a lot. More than a teenage girl should- more than any girl should for that matter. From what I hear, she's the most notorious home wrecker around. She'll stoop to very low levels to break up a couple, or even best friends. I also heard she's a part time prostitute and does her business in Roppongi and Kabukicho. I guess she's pretty- if you like that sort of thing. She's kind of a kleptomaniac; she starts a relationship with a guy, sucks them dry of their money and possessions with her looks, sleeps with them, and leaves them on the street. Simply put, she's a prostitute. And in my opinion, "prostitute" is an understatement. Also, I honestly don't like calling people such negative things, so hearing something like "I think Dona is a whore" from _me_ is definitely saying something.

"So there's _no_ chance you could ever have feelings for him?" she asked me in a nosy tone, uninvitedly jumping in our conversation.

She seems to have overheard our conversation, but that goes without saying.

I lost my control. I was tired of them teasing me. I got up from my chair and banged my hands on the table.

"Yes! Do I have to spell it out for you? I. Do. Not. Love. Tidus. Sasaki!" I yelled, while somehow maintaining a straight face.

Everyone in the room looked at me. Twenty-nine pairs of eyes glued on me.

"Okay, then. That's all I needed to know…" she told us. Before she walked away, she turned to us- namely me- and smirked mischievously.

I slowly sat down. Everyone continued with their business. Everyone, except one person. I could still feel two eyes stuck on me, gazing at me from behind. Their gaze was spine tingling, and it gave me a sour feeling inside.

I turned around slowly, and, as I expected, those pair of eyes belonged to none other than Tidus Sasaki.

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Ohmygosh. What the fuck just happened? I'll tell you tomorrow. Or whenever I feel like updating. It could be tomorrow. Or I could just leave It at that and the let the ending be open ended so you can stretch your imagination and think of your own ending. You never know. Anyway, thanks again to those who reviewed so far. More reviews mean a higher chance of a new chapter. But I'm not making any promises. Oh yeah- there were quite a few stuff here that I felt needed to be defined.

-_Sailor Fuku_: the pop culturally famous Japanese schoolgirl uniform. It first came to fruition in 1921, and has been used in middle and high schools across Japan since.  
-_Tokyo Shimbun_: A Japanese newspaper published specifically for the Tokyo area. There are two issues daily: one in the morning, and one at night.  
-_Yakizakana_: flame-grilled fish.  
-_Ohayo_: "Good Morning" in a casual tone.  
-_Ohayo Gozaimasu_: "Good Morning" said more respectfully.  
-_Arigato_: "Thank you."  
-_Do itashimashite_: "You're welcome."  
-_ganguro_: I pretty much described it in Rikku's character description paragraph. Ganguro is basically a fashion style popular among Japanese teenage girls. Like the way I described Rikku, they generally have bleach blonde hair, tanned skin, heavy make-up, short skirts and spaghetti strap tops, and a fetish for decorating accessories. You would normally find then in the Shibuya and Ikebukuro districts of Tokyo.  
-_purikura_: sticker photos you take in those picture booths.  
-_yakuza_: An underground network of Japanese street gangs. They are also one of the largest crime organizations on earth, and parallel the Italian Mafia.

-**Nishi-Shinjuku: **A neighborhood in Shinjuku, and is both Shinjuku and Tokyo's largest concentration of skyscrapers, including the Tokyo Metropolitan government building (tallest building in Tokyo, and the place where Auron works), Tokyo Opera City, Shinjuku Town Square, and Park Hyatt Tokyo, among others). By the way, this place was mentioned in the last chapter. I just forgot about it.  
-**Zen Arukando High School**: A fictional high school I created, set in the Shinjuku ward. Also, If you say "Zen Arukando," out loud, you'll notice that it sounds almost identical to "ZANARKAND," albeit with a Japanese accent. Am I clever or what?  
-**Ikebukuro**: a district in the Toshima ward, home to large department stores, the ganguro fashion, and Ikebukuro Station, the busiest train and subway station in Tokyo, serving 2.2 million people a day, and the second-busiest in the world, second only to Shinjuku Station, also in Tokyo.  
-**Harajuku**: A neighborhood in Shibuya made popular in the west by Gwen Stefani, but you all know about that, right? Anyway, Harajuku is popular among fashion obsessed teenagers. You would normally find street performers, high-end boutiques, and teens dressed in gothic Lolita clothing, just as I described Lulu. Omotesando and Shibuya station isn't too far from here.  
-**Roppongi**: A district in Minato famous for its night clubs, a large concentration of westerners, and the famous Roppongi Hills complex. It's also one of Tokyo's red-light districts, with a notable amount of love-hotels, hostess bars, and other "prostitution buildings."  
-**Kabukicho**: A district in Shinjuku, probably most famous being a red-light district, with its strong presence and number of host and hostess bars, and love-hotels scattered throughout. Also, there are major shopping and retail stores, restaurants and nightclubs. Also of note, the Japanese _yakuza_ has a strong presence in this area, though they keep themselves well hidden from locals and tourists alike.

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If I forgot anything, let me know in your review, and I'll be glad to help you at the beginning of the next chapter, if there is any –shifts eyes suspiciously-. If you want, AIM me at omtitsjosh. My other contacts are in my profile. Just so you know. Good night.

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Review, please.

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	4. Tidus: Alone in Love

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Chapter four. Damn, already? Hahah. But for real. Some people have been asking me why I update so rapidly. Well here's the answer: it's always like that when I start new stories. I always want to get my ideas down onto the Word document before I forget. Anyway, this is chapter four, and I hope you think it's a good one.

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Have you ever felt as if your heart's been ripped out by someone? Like its been ripped out and they threw it on the ground, and did the Mexican Hat Dance on it?

Well that's how I felt when Yuna screamed those six small, yet powerful words.

"_I. Do. Not. Love. Tidus. Sasaki!"_

I felt pretty sick then. My vision blurred. All I could see was Yuna, staring back at me.

She turned and said something to her friends Lulu and Rikku something, and stood up. She made her way across the room, headed towards me.

She stopped at the other side of the desk, and laid her hands on the table. She then turned to Wakka.

"Wakka-kun, can you excuse us?" Yuna asked.

He sighed and nodded, getting up from his seat.

"Sure, Yuna-chan," he replied, resting a hand on her shoulder. He squeezed it softly and he walked over to Rikku and Lulu, taking Yuna's seat, and they began their own conversation.

Yuna cleared her throat softly, and I turned away slowly, running my hand through my hair.

Yuna took a seat next to me and spoke my name softly.

I said nothing. I reclined forward in my seat.

I could hear her sigh, and I had the feeling that she was rolling her eyes.

"Tidus-kun… You know I didn't mean what I said… right?"

I could feel her hands creep their way around my waist, and he pressed herself against me.

"You know I love you, right?"

I hung my head, lower, if that was anatomically possible.

She said "love," but it wasn't the kind of "love" I wanted to hear. I knew she meant in a family member love, and I knew deep down that the only reason she said it was that she was provoked by Dona- that wench- but somehow, it wasn't good enough for me.

I put on my trademark smile and looked back at her.

"I know," I replied.

She smiled and bunny-kissed me, and kissed me again on the forehead.

"Good."

She rested her chin on my shoulder.

"I'm really sorry," she apologized again.

I shook my head, and slowly pried her arms from around me. I turned myself around in my chair, and took her petite hands in my own.

"I know you didn't mean what you yelled," I reassured.

She nodded. "Good."

Just then, our teacher came in, and we all took our seats, with Yuna sitting next to me.

School resumed as usual, and as the time went by, and transferred from classroom to classroom, I had one thing on my mind: I had to get away.

LUNCH

Yuna and I sat together on a bench in the lunch court, just like we always do everyday.

We laughed at our own inside jokes- as always, and fed each other food- as always. Though my I tried to smile and laugh as genuinely as possible, it was hard. What happened this morning kept bugging me, and it slowly ate away at my ability to show true happiness to the only person that ever made me truly happy. And unless I found out how she _really_ feels about me, or if I told _her_ how much I loved her, it always will.

"Say 'Ahhh!'" she instructed, holding a small a fork with a piece of _anmitsu_ impaled into the prongs.

I smiled and closed my eyes. I opened my mouth widely, just as she told me. "Ahhh…"

She stuck the fork and the cold dessert into my mouth, and I closed my mouth on the fork, and I pulled my head back, pulling the anmitsu off the fork with my teeth. I chewed on it slowly, looking down at my lap.

"Is it good?" she asked, taking a bite of the dessert herself.

I nodded and shifted in my seat a little bit. "Of course! You know I love anmitsu."

She put down the bowl and the fork she was holding. "Well, you _did_ eat the one I put in the fridge that _I_ made that was meant for _me_ the other day."

I chuckled and wiped my mouth with a napkin.

"Heh-Heh… Sorry about that." I replied weakly.

"It's alright," she assured me.

She continued to eat the cold dessert, while I opened a box of strawberry _Yan Yan._ I pulled off the top wrapper and reached in for a biscuit stick and dipped it in the strawberry frosting. I was about to put it in my mouth, when Yuna spoke up.

"You're not going to feed me?" she pouted, mocking a childish tone.

I stuck the biscuit back into the frosting, and I shook my head and laughed.

"_Fine,_" I complained exasperatedly.

She grinned happily, clapping her hands.

I picked up the biscuit and held it so that the frosting on it was sticking up.

"But you better love me for this," I warned.

I felt my heart pang right after I said that.

That wasn't exactly the smartest thing to say, especially when you consider earlier circumstances.

I lowered my head, and my hand holding the Yan Yan stick as well. I didn't raise my head, but I looked up at her, who was also hanging her head low.

'_Why is _she_ doing that? Was it what I said?'_

Of course, dumbass.

I sighed quietly.

'_I wonder what she's thinking right now. …Ehh, she's probably still upset about this morning.'_

Anyway, I shrugged it off, and put on my happiest smile.

"Well if you're not going to eat it…" I finally spoke, ready to eat the frosting covered biscuit.

_3…_

_2…_

_1…_

She raised her head quickly, and grabbed my hand, seconds before I completely stuck the biscuit in my mouth.

"No!" she pleaded.

I shrugged.

"Well you weren't saying anything, so I just thought that I'd…"

I left my sentence open ended, and I reached over, and smeared the strawberry frosting all over her lips. She squealed and turned away before I could do any more damage.

She laughed hard and grabbed a napkin to wipe her lips off.

"What was that for?" she yelled in confusion.

I smirked and took a drink of _Ramune._

"Consider it payback for Omotesando Hills," I simply stated.

She scoffed and slapped my arm playfully.

"Whatever," she replied.

We continued our lunch, and as we ate, I thought of more ways to plot getaway.

AFTERSCHOOL; STARBUCKS, SHIBUYA

After school let out, Yuna, Rikku, Lulu, Wakka, and myself hopped a subway to Shibuya, and walked into Starbucks. As always, it was packed with people, and it was harder than usual to find an empty table to sit at.

The girls decided that they would wait in line to buy our drinks, while Wakka and I looked for a table.

Easier said than done, because it isn't exactly like tying your shoelaces, especially when you're that the busiest Starbucks in the world.

After ten minutes of looking, we finally found a place to it, and it was a pretty good find I have to say; it was overlooking the intersection, Shibuya Station, and the Hachiko statue, with thousands of people surrounding it all, but then again, what else is new?

Just as Wakka and I sat down across from each other, the girls came with trays of iced coffee and mocha frappuccinos.

"That quick?" I asked them.

To you, ten minutes to wait in line for coffee may sound scandalous, but spend a few days in Tokyo, crammed in a subway car, surrounded by thousands of people at a busy intersection, waiting twenty years just to drive, and learning every damn honorific and title in the Japanese language, and you'll find that ten minutes for coffee is a deal.

Rikku laughed and handed me an iced coffee.

"_Domo,_" I thanked.

She smiled at me and took a seat next to Yuna, who was sitting next to Wakka, while Lulu sat next to me.

Hmm. I think this would be a great time for me to give you my opinions on these people.

Rikku is Yuna's best friend, and they've known each other for quite some time. We talk every now and then, but, like when Yuna and I first met twelve years ago, we don't stray too far from small talk, and when we do, we don't usually dabble in deep conversation topics. She has pretty blonde hair, super tan skin, and she bends our uniform policy to match her obsession with ganguro fashion. But don't let that overshadow the fact that she's pretty brainy. She almost always receives high marks, and rarely does she ever get anything lower than an A minus.

Lulu is someone I don't know very well. In fact, she's the one I least know about of the three. I hate to admit it, but her Goth style kind of freaks me out at times, and sometimes she wears so much black make-up to the point that's been dead for five… years. But she is really brainy, and she is nice to me… sometimes. In layman's terms, we have this kind of "cool" relationship with each other; you know that kind of thing- we're pretty much in limbo- always have, and probably always will be.

Wakka is probably, other than Yuna, the only person I can relate to. And what's better yet is that he's a guy. Yuna tells me that I really need a guy friend, and I guess I can't blame her. We get along fine, and we agree on a lot of things. I guess I can say that he's a good friend of mine. But we still have some ways to go before I can call him a "best friend." Anyway, he's from Hawaii, and has this thick islander accent. His hair is really way out- it sticks up, and kind of curls at the end. I _still_ wonder how he manages to keep it like that on a daily basis. His grades are pretty average- they're not spectacular, but they're not horrible either. But I bet, with some focus, he'll go far.

So we conversed and drank, and watched _gaijin_ take pictures and record videos of the intersection on their cell phones and digital cameras, which they really shouldn't be doing, but I guess if I were them, I'd do the same thing.

Soon after, we gathered out book bags, left Starbucks, and gathered at the Hachiko statue, sitting on the stone low-rising walls around the plaza.

We talked and talked, and as we socialized, the crowds, slowly waned and dwindled, until sun slowly set, and the neon lights and electronic marquees on the skyscrapers around us lit-up, one by one, and the crowds grew again. As the hours passed, we also watched some television on the giant screens that were built into the buildings, albeit the din from noise pollution.

It was around five o'clock, and we bid each other farewell. Yuna and I got on a subway back to our apartment in Bunkyo.

THE APARTMENT

We got home around five forty-five, and when we walked into the living room, we saw Auron on the couch, watching television.

"_Kombanwa, _Yuna-chan, Tidus-kun." He greeted, glancing at us.

We bowed quickly.

"Kombanwa," we replied in unison.

"You're home early?" I asked him.

He simply nodded.

"I thought you were working late?" Yuna wondered.

"I took off early," he replied.

We set our book bags next to a potted bamboo plant at the base of the stairs and joined him on the sofa.

"How was school?" he asked us.

Yuna and I looked at each other, recalling this morning.

"Good," we responded simultaneously.

We silently agreed that it was best he didn't know.

He smiled and nodded.

"Are you two hungry?" he asked us again.

Yuna spoke up first. "_Kekko desu._ I really should start on my homework."

She got off the sofa and picked up her book bag, and jogged up the stairs.

As she ascended, she spoke up.

"_Oyasumi gozaimasu, _Auron-sama, Tidus-kun!"

"_Oyasumi!"_ we yelled in reply.

Auron and I heard her open her bedroom door, and close softly.

I got off my seat then.

"I should do the same," I spoke. I walked around behind the sofa, not wanting to block his view of the television screen. I stopped behind him and rested my hand on his shoulder.

"Oyasumi," I said.

"Oyasumi," he replied, looking up at me.

I took my hand off his shoulder and reached for my book bag. I walked up the stairs and slung my book bag over my shoulder.

I walked down the hall, and stopped in front of Yuna's door.

'_I'm going to tell her,'_ I decided.

I _had_ to. It was killing me! I can't begin to tell you how much it made my heart ache. I was gut wrenching.

I raised my arm to knock on her door.

Before my fist made contact with the door, I stopped myself.

I thought over the possible outcomes, and what would happen to us after I said it.

'_Come on, Tidus,'_ I thought. _'Just say it: I love you.'_

My fist shook in nervousness. My heart pounded so loudly, you could swear that you heard my chest echo down the hall.

I swallowed my fear, and my hand met the maple door.

'Knock, knock'

The sound rang down the hall, breaking the horrible silence.

The door soon opened, and sure enough, it was Yuna.

She looked up at me and smiled.

"Tidus-kun," she answered. "Do you need something?"

I froze. I swallowed hard.

I nodded slowly. "Yes… I uh… need to tell you something."

She raised her eyebrows.

"Oh? Won't you come in?"

I raised my hand and waved it, declining her offer.

"No thanks… this'll only take a second."

"Okay, then," she replied. "What is it?"

I thought I was ready then. The keyword is _thought._ And that was _then_, and this is _now_.

But I couldn't back down. I already caught her attention, and I sought out to set out what I was going to do.

"Tidus-kun?" she asked.

I snapped out of my train of thought.

"Right, right. Anyway," I started. "What I was going to say was…"

She bent down, and turned to the side slightly, showing me her ear.

"You were going to say…"

'_Dammit!'_

"I love you!" I blurted out.

Silence.

Deafening silence.

Neither of us said anything.

After what seemed like an eternity, she smiled and giggled.

'_Okay… I wasn't prepared for _that. _What the hell does that mean?'_

She rested her hands on my shoulders.

"I love you too, Tidus-kun."

_Sure,_ she said what I hoped she would say, but she didn't say it in the way I was hoping she would.

It was more in a family way.

She kissed my cheek.

"Oyasumi gozaimasu," she told me.

And she closed the door.

I was left staring blanking at the door.

My heart sunk.

'_She didn't feel the same way.'_

My shoulders and my back slouched, and I let my book bag fall to the ground. I dragged myself further down the hall, slowly towards my room.

I stopped at my room and opened the door. Before I entered, I looked Yuna's door sadly.

I entered my room and closed the door softly.

I can't begin to tell you how many mixed emotions I was feeling at that moment.

Anger, rage, fury, madness, mad, fuming, bitterness, sadness, despondency, pathetic- name any emotion other than happiness, I was feeling it.

But most of all, I was feeling one sentiment more than anything.

_Loneliness._

Everything we had worked so hard for- our happiness, our togetherness, our _friendship_, most of all, shattered, right before my eyes.

My fists balled up, and I threw my book bag all the way across the room. I barely missed the window, and hit the wall instead; a few more inches to the right and we'd have a serious problem.

The bag hit the wall with a boom, and my books and pencils all flew out, scattered across the floor. I jumped on my bed, and screamed my fucking head off. I took a pillow, and took all my anger out on it. I punched it, I tore at it, I kicked at it, and pretty much beat the hell out of the damn thing so much that feathers started flying out of it. I threw it to the side, and I buried my face in another pillow.

Most of you may think that I'm overreacting- she _didn't_ necessarily say whether or not she loved me romantically, but I was so set on us becoming the perfect couple we always fooled people into believing we were, and having it backfire on me, well, I guess I can say that I was too much of a dumbass to think rationally.

The dejection I was feeling overwhelmed my rage, and I began tearing.

I _wasn't_ crying. I was _tearing._ There's a huge difference, girls. Men don't cry.

But who was I kidding. I was drowned of all my pride that I simply didn't care anymore.

I let hot tears spill onto my pillow, sniffling occasionally.

To be honest, the last time I cried… was twelve years ago when I learned of the loss of my parents. I mean, I'm not gonna lie to you. There were times after that when I felt like crying, but I didn't. Until now.

I sat up, leaning on my right hand, and wiping my eyes with my left. I blinked the last few tears away, and I look down. I left quite a stain. I didn't think I cried _that_ much, but whatever.

I got off the bed, and decided that the time to get away was now. I walked over to the closet, and dug through old clothes until I dug up my set of Louis Vuitton luggage that Yuna gave me for my sixteenth birthday. When I got it, I said that it was a pretty weird gift, but she told me that sooner or later, it would come in handy.

Boy was she right. I start grabbing shirts, pants, boxers, socks, anything I got my hands on, and stuffed them all in the carry-on bag. I zipped it up, and put the lock on it. I took my book bag that was still on the floor, and packed it with a notebook, my toiletries, my mp3 player, and other personal possessions.

I made my way to my desk, unhooked my laptop, and took the cords and the laptop in the carrying bag. I took a stationery pad, and quickly scribbled down a note for Yuna and Auron in permanent marker. I ripped it off the pad, and placed it on the desk. I whipped out my cell phone and a phone book from my bookcase, and looked for the number to Narita International Airport. Once I found it, I dialed the number.

"_Moshi-Moshi_?" I answered. "Yes, can you please book me on the next plane bound for San Diego International Airport?"

…..

Everything was set. But before I left, I had to make one more stop. It was past twelve, and my plane wasn't due until one, so I had time.

I silently opened Yuna's bedroom door, and noticed that the lights were still on. I found her passed out on her bed, sleeping soundly.

I tip-toed into the room, and kneeled at the bedside next to her.

"Hey, Yunie-chan," I whispered to her unconscious self.

"This may be the last time I may get to speak to you. So I might as well just say it. I love you, Yunie-chan. With all my heart. I just thought you should know, because you were the only person that really cared for me."

I began choking on my words. I felt tears run down my cheeks.

"You made me feel special; I'm forever indebted to you for doing so. This may be pointless, saying this to you in your sleep… but I just had to tell you, awake for asleep…"

I leaned in, and gently pressed my lips against hers, for the first, and probably the last time.

"I love you, Yuna Kuriyama."

I walked over to the door, and took one last look at her, before I turned off the lights, and closed her door.

I poked my head out from the top of the stairs. Auron was passed out on the couch, with the television still on.

I carried my bags down the stairs, and set them next to the door.

I walked over to him, and picked up the remote that lay next to him. I aimed it at the television, and turned it off.

I checked my watch. It was time to leave. My good-byes have been said, and my business was finished.

I walked over to the door, picked up my bags and took one last look at the apartment. I opened the door, stepped out, and closed it behind me.

…..

Out in the lobby, I was fortunate that it was empty. The receptionist was asleep at her post, and the security guards were on break, so I was pretty damn lucky that they were gone. If they weren't, they'd cross examine me and tell Auron and Yuna for sure.

Outside, I felt the crisp, cold breeze against me. I zipped up my jacket, and yelled out to the street, trying to hail a taxi.

After a few tries, a taxi finally came.

He stopped at my feet, and opened the trunk for me to put my luggage. I laid all my bags in side, closed the trunk, and stepped into the back passenger seat.

"Where to, sir?" he asked me courteously.

I looked at his reflection in the rear-view mirror.

"Narita International Airport."

* * *

OH MY GOD. There's so much drama. I wrote this on the couch in my living room, and I swear there's so much drama that goes on. It's like a drama couch, so that pretty much helps me create the drama setting. Anyway, review, review, review! There's some defining that needs to go down, so I'll go and do it.

-_Anmitsu_: a traditional Japanese desert comprised of agar, azuki bean paste, and fruit. It also comes with a black syrup you pour on the jelly before eating. It's a cold dessert, so it's most popular during summer.  
-_Yan Yan_: A Japanese snack that comes with long, skinny biscuit sticks, and either chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry syrup. You can find it in any Asian supermarket in places out of Japan.  
-_Ramune_: A Japanese carbonated soft drink with a traditional "lemon-lime" flavor. "Ramune" is phonetically identical to "lemonade," validating the lemon taste in the drink.  
-_"waiting twenty years just to drive"_: Tidus said this during the Starbuck's scene. The age of majority in Japan is twenty, and teenagers cannot take a driver's test until they turn this age. And you thought sixteen years was long.  
-_Domo_: "Thank you" casually.  
-_Kombanwa_: "Good evening."  
-_Kekko desu_: "No, thank you."  
-_Oyasumi gozaimasu_: "Good night" respectfully.  
-_Oyasumi_: "Good night" casually.  
-_Gaijin_: "Foreigner."  
-_"watched gaijin take pictures and record videos of the intersection on their cell phones and digital cameras, which they really shouldn't be doing"_: Videotaping and photography of the Shibuya intersection isn't allowed in Starbucks.  
-_Moshi-Moshi_: "Hello." You only say this on the telephone.

-**Hachiko Statue**: A famous statue of a dog named Hachiko, and is a popular gathering place in the Shibuya Station area. Hachiko was a dog who, even after his owner died, faithfully waited for him in front of Shibuya Station or over ten years until he died. Hachiko was popular among the food vendors who made business in this area, and he was honored with a statue in his likeness.  
-**Narita International Airport**: Formerly, New Tokyo International Airport ("New Tokyo" to differentiate itself from Tokyo-Haneda International Airport in the Ota Ward), this is the main air gateway into Japan. It is located in the city of Narita of the Chiba Prefecture, just outside Tokyo. Narita handles most of Tokyo (and Japan's) international commute, while Haneda handles mainly domestic flights.  
-**San Diego International Airport**: Also known as "Lindbergh Field" to the locals (like me); this is the main airway into San Diego, California (that's where I live!). It is the busiest single-runway airport in the United States, and only the second busiest in the world. **FACTUAL ERROR**: San Diego International Airport handles very little international flights. Narita International Airport does not have any flights directly to San Diego; to get from Tokyo to San Diego, you must go through Los Angeles International Airport, and either take a two hour drive from LA to San Diego, or plan a connecting flight between LA and San Diego.

* * *

Again, anything I may have forgotten, please remind me in your review and I'll be happy to help you.

* * *

REVIEW. Or this will be discontinued. Try me.

* * *


	5. Yuna: Without You

Here it is: the much anticipated chapter five! Oooh. I _was _ planning to put this off, and submit it around Christmas, but I thought that was too mean, so I just decided to get this chapter over with. Anyway, since everyone was been so good to me with the reviews, I thought that I'd treat you guys with a new chapter, so here you go. Oh yeah, I should take the time to say it now, that the school isn't a major setting, and that Rikku, Lulu, Wakka, and Dona have very limited roles in this story when you compare it to your conventional "high school story." The last chapter was probably the only time they'll ever come up. I thought I should have told you, because some people were wondering.

**-----**

"Mmm…" I groaned, half-asleep.

I then shot out of bed, breaking into a sweat. I rubbed my eyes and looked around my room. My homework was on my desk, sprawled throughout the table, making a complete and total mess.

I got out of bed and made my way to my desk. I cleaned up all the eraser shavings I made, stacked the lined paper into a corner, and put my workbooks back on the shelf. Once my work space was clean, I took a seat in my swivel chair, spinning around clockwise slowly.

'_I had the most perfect dream last night,'_ I thought to myself.

"Perfect" was an understatement, I'll tell you. Actually, it's been a recurring dream and fantasy of mine for the past three years. And it never fails to make me happy, as far as dreams go, anyway.

But this one was different. In this dream, everything felt so _real_.

You wanna know what it was about?

You really want to know?

You really, _really_ want to know?

Fine, I'll tell you. Just quit blurting out bad words at me, jeez.

You see, I'm sleeping on my bed right? And then Tidus walks into my room.

He kneels at my bedside, and he watches me sleep for a while.

"Hey, Yunie-chan," he speaks sweetly.

I don't wake up, though. He continues to talk to me while I slumber.

"I love you, Yunie-chan," he gushes. "With all my heart. I just thought you should know, because you were the only person that really cared for me."

He poured out all his feelings at that moment. It was so _wonderful,_ I tell you!

I could hear him begin to cry.

"You made me feel special; I'm forever indebted to you for doing so. This may be pointless, saying this to you in your sleep… but I just had to tell you, whether you were awake or asleep…"

Then it happens.

_He kisses me._

Hey girls aren't you _green_ with _envy?_

"I love you, Yuna Kuriyama."

And then the dream ends.

What I wouldn't give for that dream to become reality! It _felt_ like reality. I could almost _feel_ his breath on me, and his voice begin to tremble.

I sighed dreamily and stopped spinning in my chair, partly because I was starting to feel kind of dizzy.

I stood up straight, and I adjusted my nightgown.

I walked over to my door, and opened it. I stepped out of my room, and closed the door.

I tip-toed over to Tidus' door stopped in front of it.

I knocked on it gently.

"Tidus-kun?"

Silence.

He must be oversleeping. But what else is new?

"Time for school," I beckoned.

Still no answer.

I slowly turned the doorknob, and pushed the door open.

I expected him to be sound asleep on his bed, like yesterday morning, but he wasn't.

I raised an eyebrow and stepped into the room.

"Tidus-kun!" I called.

There was still no answer.

I began to worry. I scanned the room carefully, and there was absolutely no sign of Tidus anywhere.

I ran over the bathroom and knocked on the door.

"Tidus-kun, are you in there?"

No one answered.

I shut my eyes and flung the door open.

I cautiously opened an eye and saw nothing.

I walked over to the bed and lay on it, utterly confused.

'_Where is he?'_ I thought to myself.

I sighed loudly, and I fell back onto the pillows.

I felt something wet on the back of my head, and I shot up quickly in response to the sensation.

I looked back to see what it was, and it was a pretty large wet mark. I ran my palm over my hair, patting it dry. I turned around to get on all fours and ran my hand over the wet spot on the pillow, feeling the dampness of it.

I slowly raised my hand under my nostrils, and slowly sniffed it in curiosity.

'_Tears,'_ I thought.

Was he crying last night? If he was, what was it about? Why didn't he come to me and tell me what was bothering him?

But maybe he wasn't crying. It _did_ seem unlikely; Tidus hasn't cried in years!

What if that stain was left by something else?

I looked at my hand in horror.

I shook my head rapidly.

"Ewwwwwww!"I wiped my hand on the covers and the bed sheets.

"I'm getting off this bed before I get pregnant or something! Who knows how many of those stains are on this bed?"

I jumped off the mattress and dusted my upper legs off.

"_I don't do _that_, Yuna."_

His voice rang out to me, recalling our mishap the other night.

'_Fat chance!'_ I scoffed in my mind.

Tidus is your quintessential horny teenage kid. He feels me up every damn chance he gets, and has groped every one of my body parts at least once. Hell, he even scopes out the mannequins in lingerie store windows! I bet he has porn hidden all over this room.

Something caught my eye.

I turned slowly to his closet, which he left a complete and total mess. Clothes were tiredly gangling off the hangers, dirty laundry was scattered everywhere, but something was missing.

The Louis Vuitton luggage set I gave him on his sixteenth birthday.

He said that it was the most unusual present anyone's ever given him. "Are you trying to send me away?" he joked then. He should have been grateful I spent two million, two hundred eighty-nine thousand yen on him! I told him that sooner or later, he'll find use for it. Oh well. Take note, girls: never give a guy luggage as a present.

Since then, he has never touched it, so why would he start now? Most importantly, where did it go? The only logical explanation was that…

No. There's no way.

I was really beginning to worry. Tidus is missing, half of his clothes are gone, and his toiletries and all his personal possessions have disappeared. You do the math.

I took a step back and bumped into his desk. I whirled around and his laptop was missing as well. But something caught my eye. It was a piece of paper.

I picked it up and looked at it. I read it slowly in my mind, and again out loud, not being able to comprehend what was going on.

KITCHEN

Auron was pouring himself a cup of coffee when I barged in.

"TIDUS RAN AWAY!" I screamed.

Auron, in surprise, yelped in shock that I frightened him. He almost dropped his mug, but caught it before coffee spilled everywhere. He turned to me, clutching his heart.

"Yuna-chan" he began. "You scared me…"

I ran over to him and pushed the note in his hand.

"Read it!" I yelled in a tizzy.

He eyed me suspiciously and took the paper. He put on his eyeglasses and read it aloud, while I turned away and ran my hands through my hair in dismay, my chest rising and falling heavily.

I heard Auron begin reading.

"_Dear Yuna-chan and Auron-sama._

_I'm very sorry for doing this, and I can't begin to tell you how much I hate to do this, but I felt I had no choice._

_I'm going away. I'll be gone for some time. I don't know when I'll be back. I just need to think and sort out what's going on in my life._

_Don't worry about me. I'm more than capable to take care of myself. Just please, let me be._

_I love you guys,_

_Tidus Sasaki._

I didn't turn back to face him, but I had a feeling what was coming next.

_3…_

_2…_

_1..._

_Smash!_

The coffee mug he was holding fell out of his grasp, and fell to the floor in shambles, and the black liquid in it splashed all over the floor; some of it wet the back of my legs.

I turned around, and I watched him punch his fist into the counter.

He then began to spew out every expletive and curse word known to man, all in under thirty seconds.

He buried his head in his arms on the counter, and I could hear him breathing rapidly.

I walked over to him, avoiding the shards of broken glass and laid a hand on his shoulder.

I could feel a tear come to my eye, and I let it slide down my face.

He looked up at me, and for the first time in my life, I saw him cry.

FIVE MONTHS LATER

Emptiness.

That's the only emotion I felt since the day he left.

It was heartbreaking. It was the most horrible and emptying feeling imaginable.

Ever since that day, life began going downhill.

I couldn't concentrate on my studies, and because of that, my grades suffered the consequences. I lost my reign as one of the top five students at Zen Arukando High School, and everyone looked at me differently because of it. Everyone knew how close Tidus and I were. Everyday, they would try to comfort me. "I'm sorry about Tidus," they would say. "I know how you feel." I know they had their best interest for me at heart, but I really didn't give a damn. Sometimes, I just wanted to go up to them, and say "Don't _ever_ talk as if you know how I feel." But I hate to be mean like that, so whenever they try to sympathize with me, I try to smile and put on my happiest face.

Also, because of my "available" status, guys came up to me and tried to pick me up. First, they were subtle advances, and then soon, as time went on, they became more sick and sadistic. They'd grab body parts, they'd try to take advantage of me, and they'd try to take me to get into my pants. I've never felt so violated in my life. It was so demoralizing. It's happened before, but the only difference was that Tidus was there to stop them. But now that he was gone, I was left alone to defend myself. But I was too weak do anything. Only one person could ever grope me and get away with it, albeit with a red slap mark across their face, and that was Tidus.

Slowly but gradually, I lost my will to live. I hate to admit it, but I thought of suicide a handful of times. It was always such a scary thought, and how could you blame me for thinking so? I had so many opportunities to do it, and a few times, I couldn't begin to tell you how close I got to actually doing so. But before I could dig the knife into my wrist, before I could let go of the rope and let it strangle me, I always stopped myself. In the letter, he implied that he'd come back. And if he _did,_ and I wasn't alive to be there, well, now you know why I just couldn't bring myself to end my life.

Now, I'm nothing but an empty shell. I'm forced to smile through a thousand tears. What I wouldn't give to have him back in my arms, holding me closely to him.

But you know what ate away at me the most? It hurt more than the emptiness I felt inside of me.

I never told him how much I loved him.

I felt miserable. I had every opportunity to tell him, but I chickened out and stayed quiet, keeping everything under glass. Now, I can't begin to tell you how much I regret doing so. I should have just puffed out my chest, take e deep breath, and say, "Tidus, I love you." But noooo, I had to be a wuss and keep my damn mouth shut. Now, every damn minute, of every damn hour, of every single damn day, for the past five months, I've mentally kicked myself for keeping quiet.

Remember when I told you that on my twelfth birthday, he showed me his secret garden in Yoyogi Park? Well, I left out a few stuff that I didn't remember until the day he left.

He told me that while he's under any condition in which he can't visit the garden, like if he's sick, then he trusts me to look after it, and that no uninvited visitors intrude. So every other day, for the past five months, I've been visiting the garden for about an hour, sitting by the pond, throwing rocks, and just relaxing.

Also, he told me one more thing.

We made this pact that day at the garden.

"Yuna-chan, if you ever feel lonely," he said, cupping my face in his hand. "Just whistle and I'll come running."

He then showed me how whistle. He stuck his index finger and his thumb in his mouth, and blew. It made this loud, ear piercing sound.

I tired it the first time, but it failed. He laughed at me.

"You almost got it, Yuna-chan. Just practice and you'll get it in no time."

So I practiced. I practiced and practiced. Until one day, when I was thirteen, I got it right. I was so excited, that I had to showed him. When I did it, it came out more sharp and shrill than any whistle he's ever done. He laughed and congratulated me. "That was really good, Yuna-chan!" he gushed.

Ever since then, the whistle never failed me. Even if I was at home, and he was at the garden, and I whistled out from my balcony, sooner or later, he came running.

So for the last five months, I've been whistling. And no one would whisle back. Sometimes, I'd even go out to the observatory deck of Tokyo Tower, the highest point in all of Tokyo, and whistle. But to no avail.

I sighed. I got off my bed, and stripped myself of my school uniform. I just finished my homework at the garden this afternoon, and I spend most of my after school time with Rikku, Lulu and Wakka, so I was pretty beat. Being a Friday night, you'd expect more excitement, right? But since Tidus' left, I've lost the will to splurge.

Anyway, I dressed myself in a pair of denim short-shorts and a white camisole, and I grabbed a hairclip to hold my hair up. I walked out of my room, and into Tidus'.

I turned on the lights, and I walked into the room, closing the door behind me. I made my way over to his closet, and knelt down. I then began folding and hanging all of his clothes. Hey, if he _should_ come back, he'd want a nice, clean closet to come home to right?

Once everything was in order, I stood up and dusted off my chest. Something then caught my eye. I found the same jacket Tidus let me wear that night at Omotesando Hills. I took it off its hanger, and felt the cotton fabric on my fingers. I held it up to my nose and inhaled the lingering scent.

It smelled of him.

I slowly slipped it on my body, and felt the warmth of it.

I closed the closet door, and I looked over to the French doors leading to the balcony. I strolled over to the door, and I opened them, letting the cool autumn breeze come in. It was nighttime, so it was colder than usual. I stepped out onto the balcony, and I slipped the light switch for the balcony lights to come on.

I pulled up the zipper and rubbed my hands together for more warmth. I leaned on the iron railing and looked out to the view.

It was beautiful. Tokyo's skyline never changes. The glistening waters of Tokyo Bay, with the incandescent lights of the Rainbow Bridge reflecting off the bay, international orange illuminating Tokyo Tower, the bright lights of the surrounding skyscrapers, and the sound of the wind, slowly blowing through my hair. It was breathtaking, and I never get tired of this view.

I then thought of something. It was pretty farfetched, but, for the past five months, it never stopped me before.

I took my index finger and my thumb, held them to my mouth, and blew.

The whistling sound echoed through the night, piercing through the hustling and bustling noise of city life.

I waited. I waited for Tidus' whistle to come back to me.

But, once again, nothing came.

I laughed at my own naiveté.

Look at me. Yuna Kuriyama, holding onto false hope, and waiting for something that may never come. Don't I look pathetic? I thought as much.

But that false hope is all I have. No one ever believed that Tidus would ever come home. Even Auron, believe it or not. Three months ago, he just gave up on the thought of Tidus coming to his senses and coming back from who knows where. No one believed, except for me. And as far as I'm concerned, one person believing is all that it takes to make a miracle happen.

I began to cry.

I let my tears fall like rain. They fell everywhere. On the railing, on my hands, on the floor, and some fell off the balcony, crashing down into the streets at the bottom level.

I took in a deep breath, and reared back. I then leaned forward, and yelled at the top of my lungs:

"I LOVE YOU, TIDUS SASAKI!"

My voiced echoed, slowly fading into the distance.

I hung my head in silence.

I slowly let go of the railing, and I walked back inside the house.

I closed the doors behind me, and I took a seat at Tidus desk.

"Why did you have to leave?" I asked weakly, breaking down into tears. I crossed my arms on the table and buried my head in my arms.

I looked up, and wiped my tears on Tidus' jacket's sleeve. His desk was in disarray as well, so I decided to tidy it up. I put away a phone book that was left open on his desk. I took a stationery pad and a permanent marker, and I was about to put it in the drawer, when I noticed something about it.

There was something written on the piece of paper that was on the top of the pad. It wasn't exactly written on it directly, but it was as if someone wrote with permanent parker on the piece of paper that went before it, and the ink had seeped through onto this one.

I ripped the paper off the pad and tried to make out what it said.

It was pretty vague, but I tried to make sense of it.

The first line was some sort of date.

"May… Sixteenth… 2006…" I read the first line. It seemed to look like that's what it read.

"May sixteenth… That's the day before we found out Tidus was missing!" I exclaimed in shock. Maybe I could use this as a clue to find him!

The second like look like there were three words. I focused on the first line.

"N… N…" It started with an "N," but I couldn't read the rest.

"Nara? Nagano? _Natsukashigaru_?" I threw out all the words I knew that began with "n."

I focused on the second word, figuring that the first one would come to me later.

The second word was pretty long. It looked as if it began with an "I."

"In… In…ter… Inter… International!" I finally got it.

The third word began with an "A."

"A… Ai… Air... Airspace? Airplane? Air…" I scratched my head. I got the "airp" right; I just couldn't make out the last three letters.

"Air… Damn, this is hard! Air… Airport!"

I smiled at my own intelligence.

"The second line is 'Something-that-begins-with-an-"n" International Airport!"

I thought of all the airports I knew that began with a word that starts with "n."

"Naha International Airport? No, 'Naha" is too short. Niigata International Airport? I don't think so… This is so frustrating! …Narita! Narita International Airport!"

So, Tidus got on a plane? Where did he find the money? On second thought, Auron _did_ say that he was missing a lot of yen from his wallet following Tidus' disappearance.

The third line was the easiest to make out. Like the second line, it had "International Airport" at the end. The first word was "San," and the second one started with a "D."

"San D…" I thought aloud. "What city starts with San D? I don't think it's an airport in Japan…"

I repeated that in my mind.

"_I don't think it's an airport in Japan…"_

You mean to tell me that Tidus isn't even in the country?

Whatever his reason to run away- and it better be damn well worth my time to listen to when I find his sorry ass- it must have been pretty bad to _leave the country._

Anyway, I continued to think of a city with "San D…"

"San Dimas? San… Diego? San Diego! San Diego International Airport!"

There was one last line: three words, the first beginning with an "M."

"M… Man… Mandarin? Man… Manchest… Manchester."

Time for the second word.

"G… Gra… Granite… Grand… Okay, okay. Manchester Grand."

The last word started with an "H," and it was pretty short. It looks like the last two letters were the same, so it couldn't have been too hard to figure it out.

"H…Hy… Hyatt… Manchester Grand Hyatt!"

'_So that's Tidus' hotel in San Diego? Sounds luxurious.'_

I completed the note. It read:

"_May 16, 2006._

_Narita International Airport_

_San Diego International Airport_

_Manchester Grand Hyatt."_

I took a piece of paper and dug for a pencil in the drawer. I wrote down what I figured out, and I took the note with me to my room.

I turned on my light, and pulled out my backpack. I emptied it of all my school supplies and filled it with a weekend's full of clothes. You may think that I should use a suitcase, and that I'm under packed, but trust me. This trip won't take long.

I grabbed my toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, shampoo, soap, and a few pads for my "lady problems" from the bathroom and the cabinets under the sink.

I grabbed my small stuffed bear from my bed. It was a teddy bear Tidus bought for me when I was fifteen because I was sick with a fever. I felt so ill that he bought me the bear to make me feel better.

I slipped on a pair of light blue low-top canvas shoes, and I grabbed my wallet and my cell phone.

I ran back to Tidus' room for the phone book and searched for the airport's phone number.

"Moshi-moshi_Narita Kokusai Kūkō, hajimemashite?"_

"I need tickets for the next plane to San Diego!"

SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Sixteen hours. Sixteen _long_ hours.

I've never been on a plane, so sitting in a chair, sleeping, and doing absolutely _nothing _is not what I'm accustomed to.

And the food.

Seriously; what _is_ up with that stuff?

Anyway, I didn't need to bother with baggage claim, since I only brought my backpack, so I didn't spend a whole lot of time in the airport. I walked out of the terminal, and boarded a bus that took commuters to and from downtown and the airport.

Me being a tourist, I got out my digital camera, and took pictures of the high-rises and skyscrapers. They were a lot, but not to the same extent as Tokyo. The sun was shining brightly, and we passed by beautiful and sandy beaches. We stopped in front of two white buildings with roofs shaped like slotted tip screwdrivers.

"Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel," the bus driver announced over the intercom.

The bus doors opened, and a few people, along with me, exited the bus.

I put on my sunglasses, and stepped onto the sidewalk. There were hundreds of people on the sidewalks, but this was tame compared to Shibuya. Anyway, I walked across the long sidewalk and entered the hotel.

I was greeted by doormen, and I approached the reception desk, resting my glasses on my head.

"Hello, welcome to the Manchester," the receptionist spoke in a welcoming tone, and smiled at me. "Will you be checking in this morning?"

I shook my head. "No, but I was wondering if you could give me the room number for Tidus Sasaki? I believe he's been staying here for sometime."

The receptionist nodded.

"Okay, then." She started typing rapidly on the keyboard in front of her.

"Sasaki… Sasaki…" she mumbled, searching for his name on the computer.

"Here he is," she finally spoke to me. "Tidus Sasaki is staying at our Regency Suite. Here is his room number," she took a small card from her desk and wrote something on it. "And the floor he's on," she continued.

She smiled at me and handed me the card.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"Yuna Kuriyama," I replied.

"Well Miss Kuriyama, welcome to the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego," she welcomed me.

"Thank you so much," I replied.

I left the reception desk and headed for the elevators.

"Miss!" she called from her desk to me. "Should I call his room saying that you came?"

I stopped in my tracks. If she did that, then it would spoil the surprise.

"No, thank you" I finally said. "He knows I'm here," I lied.

I pressed on the elevator button, and a few seconds later, it opened for me.

I stepped in, and the doors closed behind me. I looked at the card and pressed on the appropriate floor button.

A few moments later, the elevator doors opened. I walked down the hall, looking for the Regency Suite Tidus was in.

'_Regency Suite, eh? Sounds expensive.'_

After a few minutes looking, I finally found it.

I stopped at in front of his door.

'_This is it,'_ I thought.

I swallowed hard.

I turned my hand into a fist, and I raised it, ready to knock on the door.

My breath caught in my throat.

After a few seconds of building anticipation, my fist made contact with the door.

'_Knock, knock…'_

The sound echoed through the empty halls.

A knocking sound on a door really isn't loud, but when you consider the circumstances, and how quiet the halls were at the time, a simple knock was _hell._

Then, the door opened.

And sure enough, the person who opened the door and the person who was staring back at me was none other than Tidus Sasaki.

**-----**

DUN, DUN, DUNNNNNN. What happens? I don't know, and neither do you. Hahah. Anyway, here's some definition stuff.

-_"He should have been grateful I spent two million, two hundred eighty-nine thousand yen on him!"_: That is the Japanese Yen equivalent to twenty-thousand US dollars.

-_Natsukashigaru_: To yearn for.  
-_Narita Kokusai Kuko_: "Narita International Airport"  
-_Hajimemashite_: "How do you do?"

-**Nara**: The capital of the Nara prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan, and was the former capital of Japan, even before Kyoto.  
-**Kansai**: A metropolitan area on the southern part of the Honshu, the main island of Japan. Kansai is made of seven Japanese Prefectures: Nara, Wakayama, Mie, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, and Shiga. Kansai is usually compared and contrasted with the Kanto region, in the northern part of Honshu, and one would even say that they rival each other. Kansai is comprised of Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and many other small cities and towns in the surrounding area. Kansai is usually considered the counter cultre hub of Japan. The two major airports serving this area are Osaka-Kansai International Airport in Osaka, which handles mainly international traffic, and Osaka-Itami international Airport, which serves mainly domestic flights, and the main seaport lies on Osaka Bay.  
-**Kanto**: A metropolitan area on the northern part of Honshu. Kanto is usually compared and contrasted with the Kansai region, and one would even say that they rival each other. The region encompasses seven Japanese Prefectures, just like the Kansai region: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Kanto is mainly comprised of the two largest metropolitan areas: the Tokyo metropolis and Yokohama, the largest incorporated city in Japan, along with many other large cities and small towns surrounding Tokyo and Yokohama. Kanto is the most urbanized and industrialized area in Japan. The two major airports serving this area are Tokyo-Narita International Airport in the city of Narita, Chiba, which serves mainly international traffic, and Tokyo-Haneda International Airport, in the city of Ota, Tokyo, with handles mainly domestic flights, and the main seaport lies on Tokyo Bay.  
-**Nagano**: The capital city of the Nagano Prefecture, and was the hosting city of the Winter Olympics in 1998.  
-**Manchester Grand Hyatt**: A Grand Hyatt Hotel located in Downtown San Diego, just seconds from San Diego Bay. The Manchester owns the largest waterfront property of any hotel on the west coast. The Manchester has two towers parallel to each other: one is thirty-three stories, and the other is forty stories. The taller building is the highest building in San Diego. The Manchester boasts 1,625 rooms.

**-----**

Okay. I should tell you that the final chapter is already written and ready to be put up. BUT HERE'S THE CATCH: Until I reach a certain number of reviews- and I'm not saying what that number is- that chapter isn't going up. Hahah. It's part of my dry humor. So go, go, go and review, review, review! Review every chapter! Okay? Okay.

**-----**


	6. Thank God I Found You

Congratulations! You have either met or exceeded the number of reviews required to unlock this chapter! Hahah, I'm trying to sound like those announcer voices or those pop-up notices on video games. Could you tell? I thought as much.

Anyway, I'm so excited for this story. I'm very grateful for all the feedback it got so far, and I'm hoping that I'll get more well after the completion of this story. So please, when you finish reading this chapter, review, and tell everyone you know about this story and that they should read and review it or Satan will come after them.

Anyway, this chapter is kind of different than any of the other chapters in this story (or any of my other stories for that matter), because you'd expect this chapter to follow suit with the Yuna/Tidus point of view pattern, which it does for a very large portion of this chapter, but towards the end, it'll begin switching between them, starting with Tidus. But to help you differentiate the different perspectives, I'll notify you right before they change. Okay? Okay. Here I go.

**-----**

Well done, Yuna.

So you found me?

I thought as much. And to be honest, I'm not very surprised.

But how? Whatever she used that lead her to me, it was pretty damn good. Yuna was always inquisitive, and usually found herself getting caught in other people's affairs.

But what _did_ surprise me, what that it took her longer than I thought it would take her. I was expecting her to come find me a week after I left at most. At least she didn't take two years. She was really quick to respond to these kinds of situations. Hold on- I should take that back, because rarely do these kinds of situations _ever_ happen.

We stayed silent for quite some time. We never took our eyes off each other. The only sounds that came out of us were our breaths.

Finally, after five, long, _torturous_ minutes, Yuna spoke up.

"What's wrong, Tidus-kun? You forgot your manners in Tokyo?"

I snapped out of my silence. I raised an eyebrow, not understanding her.

"Huh?" I asked stupidly.

She shook her head, smiling.

"You're not going to let me in?" she asked again, dumbing down the sentence for me.

"Oh… Oh! Of course!" I stepped to the side and let her into the room.

"May I take your backpack?" I asked her courteously. It's been quite some time since we last talked, so I didn't really know how to approach her, so I figured politeness was a good way to do so.

She smiled at me and handed me her book bag. I took it and slung it over my back. For someone who was traveling- intercontinentally no less- it seemed rather light.

"This is all you brought? Or are bell boys coming up with more stuff?" I asked her, who was looking out of the windows to the view of San Diego Bay.

"No, that's it." She replied without looking back at me. "I figured that this trip would take no more than a weekend."

I nodded and slumped on a nearby sofa. I opened up her larger pocket and dug through clothes and toiletries, and then found a small stuffed bear. I pulled it out, and I smiled at it.

"Aww, you brought Tidy-bear!" I exclaimed warmly.

Once when Yuna was fifteen, she fell sick with a bad fever. She was bed-ridden for a whole week, and I was beginning to worry for her. She seemed so ill and miserable, that I went out to buy her a small teddy bear with all the yen I had at the time. When I gave it to her, she was so happy that it was worth staying broke for a couple of days. She even gave it his own name: Tidy-bear. She said she came up with it by combining two things about me: the pet name she gave me, "Tidy," and "bear," since I, and I'm quoting her on this, "cuddle like a bear cub."

"Yep," she replied. She took a seat next to me, and ran her fingers through my hair.

"It was so that I had something to hold onto on the plane."

I chuckled softly. "So how was the plane ride here?" I asked.

She raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Ehh…" she simply said. I laughed at that.

"But I have to say that it was better than expected. The movie could've been better… I was uncomfortable sleeping sitting up… And the food…"

We turned to each other and said simultaneously:

"What _is_ up with that stuff?"

We laughed heartily for a minute, and then it slowly died down.

I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. I glanced at her, and watched her run her hands up and down her bare legs as if she was trying to warm herself up.

"Are you cold?" I asked her. "I can get you a jacket if you want…"

She waved her hand, declining my offer.

"No thanks."

I nodded and silence fell upon us once again.

After a while, she turned to me.

"Since you've been here longer than I have…" she started. "Would you mind showing me around the city?"

I looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Tidus-kun, show me a good time. Just like you used to do in Tokyo..."

"You're not feeling jet lagged or anything?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Nope. I slept the entire flight."

I thought about it for a few seconds, and then I made my decision.

"Of course, Yuna-chan. I'd love to."

She beamed widely and hugged me tightly.

…..

I let Yuna take a shower in my bathroom, and while I waited, I laid on the bed, pondering what had happened in the past hour.

Her coming here was very different from what I first thought.

Honestly, the first thing I thought she'd do was slap me across the face. Very, _very_ hard. Then, she'd yell at me for leaving her, shrieking at the top of her lungs, creating a hellish uproar that would send even Satan himself on a run for his money. She'd hit me, and pound me, and beat me, taking five months on anguish and anger out on my being.

Good thing she didn't; I'd have to pay the hotel to get my blood shampooed out of their carpet.

**First Person- Yuna**

I scrubbed my body with soap, mulling over the past hour's events.

I know what you're thinking.

Everything seems rather anti-climatic, and that you were expecting me to blow up right in Tidus' face. Don't get your hopes up just yet; let me fill you up in what I'd do to him.

First of all, I'll give him a hard, forceful slap across his face. Then, I'll push him into the wall, yelling at him for what a stupid and thoughtless thing he did. I'd yell, I'd scream and I'd created such a hellish uproar that would send even Satan on a run for his money. Finally, I'd take out five months- five long, dreary, empty months of anger out on him. I'd beat him so badly; he'll have to pay the hotel to get his blood shampooed out of the carpet.

But I'm saving that for later. I wouldn't want to start this trip off on the wrong foot, no pun intended. I made Tidus promise me that he'd show me a good time, exposing me to everything San Diego has to offer. Then, when we get back, I'll begin my tantrum.

**First Person- Tidus**

About fifteen minutes later, Yuna came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body, drying her hair with the hotel's hairdryer.

"Hey, you," Yuna said to me, smiling, turning the hairdryer off.

I looked up at her, and waved. "It took you long enough," I replied.

She scowled playfully. "Whatever. I take the same amount of time in the shower just as much as you do."

I scoffed. "Yeah, right! What is it with women and the dumb need to take hours beautifying themselves just to get the mail or something?"

"Hey, it may be dumb, but at least we look _sexxxayyyy!_"

And with that, a flashback came to mind.

"_Did you know you cuddle in your sleep?" Yuna told me._

"_I do not," I snapped back, refusing to accept the fact that I do such a thing._

_"Men don't cuddle," I added, feigning arrogance._

_She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "What is it with men and that dumb macho attitude?"_

_"Hey, it may be dumb, but at least we have our pride."_

I smiled at the memory.

Yuna got out some clothes from her backpack and turned to me.

"Now, I'm gonna change, so you're gonna have to shoo for the moment."

I frowned slightly. "Does that mean I can't watch?"

She laughed at my remark. She pointed to the double doors with the hairdryer. "Out."

I got off the bed and held my hands up defensively. "Okay, okay! Just don't blow-dry me to death or something.

She laughed harder and I left the room, closing the doors behind me.

I took a seat on the sofa and turned on the television, changing the channel to MTV.

After watching a few music videos, Yuna came out of the bedroom, dressed in a white tube top that only covered her breasts, exposing her toned stomach, and a matching mini skirt that went down to her lower thigh. Her chocolate highlighted brown hair went straight down, and some of it partially covered her left eye. Her make up was very subtle- as far as a guy knows anyway- and it complimented her skin color.

I wolf whistled loudly, eyeing her up and down, taking in her beauty.

She giggled and sat next to me, and slipped on a pair of four-inch stiletto heels.

I gave her with an 'are-you-crazy' look when I saw her choice of footwear.

"You're not _actually_ gonna wear those, are you?" I asked.

She looked up at me and nodded. "Uh huh."

"I'm telling you- you're gonna end up in pain by the end of the night."

She scoffed and tucked her hair behind her ear. "_You're_ the one that influenced me to come out of my "wet blanket" self and be more outgoing with my appearance!"

"Well, yeah, but…" I started, scratching my head. "Don't you think you should have chosen something less… high?"

She laughed quietly. "Well, these shoes are the only ones that match with this ensemble."

"Here we go," I lamented. "Another one of those girl things I'll never understand."

She giggled and pushed me softly.

"Don't you own anything other than stilettos?" I asked.

"Yeah, but anything that isn't elevated literally hurts my feet. You've seen me around the house- I'm always tip-toeing when I walk barefoot."

She _was_ right. As long as I have known her, Yuna always tip-toed when she was barefoot. It was like she was permanently wearing a pair of invisible heels. Yuna was very girly like that, I guess. While little girls around us played with Raggedy Ann dolls, Yuna would only play with Barbies.

"And the thing about my shoes are," Yuna continued, "Is that they always hurt." She chuckled.

"Then why the hell do you wear them?"

"Hey, if they look good…" Yuna replied.

I raised an eyebrow. "So let me get this straight: you'd wear six-inch stiletto heels, even though you know that it'll be hell in those shoes, but for the sake of looking good?"

She smiled. "_Now _you finally understand! Keep that up, and you'll understand girls in no time!"

We both got up at the same time. In those heels, the top of Yuna's head was at my eye level. When she has no shoes on- and when she's not tip toeing, I'm usually a head taller than her.

We both walked over to the door, I opened it, and I motioned for her to go first.

"My lady," I said to her in an English accent. She giggled and stepped out of the suite, and I followed suit, closing and locking the door behind me.

PARKING LOT  


I led her to the hotel's parking lot. Here's something productive I did during my five month absence: I learned to drive. Honestly, the Japanese government could learn a thing or two about choosing an age of consent from the Americans. Waiting sixteen years before you can drive is a _way_ better deal than waiting twenty.

"What are we doing here?" Yuna asked me.

"I wanna show you something," I replied. I took her hand and led her through the rows of cars and automobiles. Until I found it. My baby, I like to call her.

Yuna gasped. Before us was a black 2006 Toyota Camry.

"Tidus-kun, it's beautiful! ...This car is great and everything, but why are you showing it to me?"

I smirked at her and shifted my eyebrows up and down.

Her eyes widened. "No… Is this car _yours?_"

"Yep… This is my baby. Her name is Susan."

She laughed out loud at me. "You actually named your car? How _guyish_."

I stared at her in shock. "Don't say that around Susan! She'll hear you!" I rubbed Susan's hood. "It's okay, Susan-chan. She didn't mean that."

Yuna rolled her eyes at me. "Oh, how easily I've been replaced- by something that _doesn't live_, no less! But more importantly, when did you learn?"

"About two months ago," I replied.

She nodded slowly. "So you're gonna drive us?"

"Yep," I replied.

I reached for my car keys in my back pocket, and pulled them out. I pressed a button, and all the door locks became undone. I opened the front passenger seat for Yuna, and I guided her in. Once she was seated, I ran around Susan, and I opened the driver's door. I sat on the seat, and closed the door beside me.

"So, Yunie-chan," I started, adjusting the rear-view mirror. "Where to?"

"Well… since you seem to know this city more than I do, why don't you surprise me?"

"Well, there _is _this great nude beach up in North County…" I replied.

"Surprise me with anyplace that doesn't have naked people everywhere!" she quickly added.

I snickered when she said that, and I nodded, turning on the ignition. I put on my sunglasses and faced Yuna. "Sure can do."

I drove out of the parking lot, and cruised down the streets of downtown.

I decided to skip the more tourist-like spots in San Diego- such as San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld, Balboa Park, places of that nature, and opted to take her to places that were a bit low-key on the tourist radar.

BELMONT PARK, PACIFIC BEACH

"This here, Yuna-chan, is Belmont Park!" I exclaimed in a dramatic voice.

"Belmont Park is an amusement park in the Mission Bay neighborhood," I told her.

"What kind of rides do they have?" she asked me.

"Oh, you know: bumper cars, a tilt-a-whirl, an arcade, a carousel, an artificial wave machine, things that you'd traditionally find at any boardwalk amusement park."

"Ohh," Yuna uttered, taking digital pictures with her camera.

"And of course, a wooden roller coaster!" I finally added.

Yuna gasped. "Like in the "Fantasy" video?"

I nodded. "Yep!"

"Ooh, let's go!" she cried in a childish voice.

I laughed and took her by the hand, and led her to the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster, a wooden roller coaster that was first built here in 1925.

We ran up the ramp and luckily, we were the first ones in line. We made our way past the turnstiles, and hopped into the first car. Once the entire train was filled, the ride started.

We rode the roller coaster five times, played some arcade games, are half our weight in cotton candy, and before we left, we rode Chaos, a giant wheel with compartments that, while the while spun, twisted in a spinning motion.

We laughed heartily through the parking lot, trying to find Susan. Once we found her, we got inside her- no innuendo intended- and I drove us to our next destination.

MOUNT SOLEDAD, LA JOLLA

"Yuna-chan, this is Mount Soledad."

We looked out to the view the hill boasted. I gave us a 360 degree view of the Pacific Ocean, and the community of La Jolla. I felt the cool breeze hit my face, when Yuna spoke up.

"Tidus-kun, what is this cross? I remember seeing it from the plane when we were about to touch-down."

I turned around to see the cross.

"This cross was built here on Mount Soledad in 1954. Soon, it became part of the Korean War Memorial, honoring and commemorating those who lost their lives in the war." I told her.

Yuna looked up in awe of how huge the cross was.

"You know, Yuna-chan, this cross is in danger."

She looked at me confused. "How so?"

"Because, in the 1980s, people were saying that instead of being a war memorial, it is a statement that Christianity is the dominant religion." I replied.

"Really? But what are they going to do with it then?" She asked.

"People are still arguing about it. But there is a possibility that it will be torn down."

"Hmph. I think they should keep it up," Yuna replied, saying her mind.

"Hmm?" I looked at her.

"I'm not Christian, but I don't think its saying that Christianity is the dominant religion. Like you said, it was a war memorial _way_ before this whole religion stuff came up."

I smiled at her. "You really think so?"

"Mmm'hmm!"

"Well, just in case it does get torn down, how's about I get a picture of you with it?"

She nodded and ran over to the base. She thought for a second of a pose, and then she held her left hand up, and her right on her hip, like those girls on The Price is Right.

I chuckled and held down on the camera button. "Niiiice…"

I wanted to be in a picture with the cross and Yuna as well, so I looked around until I found a girl who looked about my age.

"Excuse me, miss?" I tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to me and smiled. "Yes?"

"I was wondering, if it's not any trouble…"

"You want me to take a picture of you and your girlfriend?"

"Yeah… I mean, she's not my girlfriend."

The girl giggled and took the camera from me. "Okay then."

I ran over to Yuna, and I wrapped my arm around her neck.

"Smiles!" she exclaimed, and took the picture.

I ran back to the girl and took the camera back. "Thank you, miss."

She laughed and waved her hand. "No problem at all. By the way, you two look really cute together. Maybe you should ask her out?"

I raised an eyebrow at her,

She held her hands up defensively. "Just a suggestion is all…" And with that, she turned around and walked away.

Yuna walked over to me and looked at the picture on playback mode.

"That's cute," she complimented.

I pressed my luck and took a chance on what I was gonna say.

"I know you are," I replied.

I watched her cheeks blush ten different shades of pink and red.

"Wh-what?"

"Heh-Heh…" I chuckled. I began to run away, then changed into a sprint.

"No fair!" I heard her complain. "I'm in heels!"

I turned to her and continued to run backwards. "Should of thought of that before you chose that outfit!"

She screamed my name loudly.

"Race you back to Susan!" I challenged.

"Tidus, get it through your head- it's a _car_!" I heard her yell.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night!" I shot back.

…..

We stopped by a McDonalds for lunch, and I showed Yuna around the city for another three hours, taking pictures at each stop.

It was a little past seven, and we were at Seaport Village, which is just within walking distance of the hotel.

We sat together on a grassy knoll in front of the parking lot, and not far from the shops and stores and restaurants. In front of us was the sun setting down into San Diego Bay, changing the colors in the sky from red to orange to yellow.

The crowds were starting to disperse at this time, and the boardwalk got quieter as time flew by.

Yuna was sitting in between my legs, huddled close to me, and I was enveloped around her, holding her body tightly against mine, resting my chin on her shoulder, and taking in her warmth.

"Is it like this everyday, Tidus-kun?" she asked me.

I turned to her slowly. "Hmm?"

"The sunset," she explained.

"Ohh," I replied. "Yeah. _Everyday_. I usually come out here just to watch it."

She nodded. "It must be nice living here."

I nuzzled her neck slowly. "It is… But nothing beats living in Tokyo…"

She turned to me after I said that.

"Then why'd you leave?" she asked, with tears welling up in her eyes.

I paused, taken aback by her sudden question. Now _that_ was something I didn't expect.

I looked down at the grass, unable to face Yuna in the eye.

"We should... get back to the hotel…" I started slowly, ignoring her question.

I unraveled my hands from her waist, and I stood up and dusted off my butt. I assisted Yuna in getting up as well. She fixed her hair and brushed off her skirt.

Because Seaport Village was just a few minutes away from the hotel, I left Susan in the hotel parking lot, and we strolled back to the hotel.

The walk back was very tense and awkward after she asked her question. We didn't talk to each other the entire trip, and we didn't make physical contact at all. The silence between us was painfully deafening.

What was even more awkward was the elevator ride. No one was in the elevator when we got in, and no one stepped in on our way up. There was no music to break the silence, so you could only imagine how dismal that elevator ride was.

…..

I unlocked the front door, and I opened it, allowing Yuna to go in before me. I closed the door behind me quietly and locked it. It was pretty warm, so I turned on the air conditioning to cool the place down. I walked into the kitchenette and got a cold water bottle out of the fridge.

I walked back into the living room, but Yuna wasn't there.

"Yuna-chan!" I called.

"I'm in the bedroom!" I heard her voice answer back.

I followed her voice into the bedroom, and saw Yuna sitting on the edge of the bed, taking off her shoes.

I took a seat next to her and offered her my water bottle. She declined my offer, and I set the bottle on the floor next to me.

I felt her lay a hand on my thigh.

"Tidus-kun… You still didn't answer my question."

I swallowed and I crossed my legs nervously.

"Wh-What question?" I lied, feigning ignorance.

"Tidus Sasaki, you know very damn well what question I'm talking about." She demanded in a stern voice.

My eyes widened in shock. I've never heard _that_ tone of voice from Yuna. Usually it's from Auron or a strict schoolteacher.

"Why did you leave?" she repeated, the firmness of her voice slowly wavering, as her tone took on a more sad and depressed personality.

I felt kind of guilty at her question.

Let me rephrase that: I felt as if I had just smacked her senseless and made her cry.

"Is it because of gas prices?" she asked.

I shook my head slowly. "No, of course not…"

"Is it because you wanted adventure? Japan got tired and boring?" she asked again.

"No. Nothing could ever replace living in Japan." I replied.

"Is it because… you don't love me anymore?"

I felt sick to the stomach when she uttered those last words.

"_Is it because… you don't love me anymore?"_

"No, no, it's not that… I could never stop loving you. It's just that…"

She stood up and put her hands on her hips.

"Just what?"

I looked up at her, and I shrugged.

"I don't know… I thought... That you didn't…"

"Didn't what?"

I sighed. "You wouldn't understand…"

She sighed and hung her head.

She turned and walked over to the door, but didn't leave the room.

"You're right," she replied, looking up, but not turning to face me. "I don't understand." She continued in a very serious tone. " I don't understand why you ran away, why you'd leave me, why you'd sneak out of the house, catch a taxi to Narita, and get on a plane to a different country without even a simple goodbye! And I can't begin to tell you what I'm feeling right now. I'm angry… I'm hurt… I'm… depressed… Tidus, what you did… what that put me through… All that pain I endured was heartbreaking. Not only me, but everyone back home: Rikku, Lulu, and Wakka… Not to mention Auron. He even gave up all hope that you'd come back to us."

Not to sound inconsiderate and unthinking, but when I boarded that plane in Narita, I thought nothing of how much I was hurting everyone. Auron… Yuna… even Rikku, Lulu, and Wakka, people who I knew relatively nothing about. Not once did I think of the heartache I would be causing them.

I slowly got up, dusting myself off. I walked over to Yuna. I nervously reached over and rested my hands on her shoulders. I tightened my grip, feeling hot tears well up in my eyes, but I didn't let them fall.

"Yuna-chan… I'm so sorry… I can't begin to tell you how deeply, truly, sincerely, sorry I am for doing what I did."

She turned to me, and, as expected, tears were streaming down her face.

"Why?" she asked, choking on her own words.. Or word for that matter.

I quickly reached out to her to comfort her, but she did something I didn't expect: she pushed me away.

"Why?" she repeated, only in an angrier tone.

She pushed me again, only a lot harder. I stumbled back, but I didn't fall over. She pushed me again, but this time, it was more of a shove. She continued to ram me until I ran into the wall. I grunted loudly in pain and I slumped to the floor.

She ran towards me and knelt down.

"Why did you leave me?" she demanded, breaking down in tears.

She started slapping me repeatedly, and began beating my chest. I gave into her assault against me, and to any guy who thinks I'm being too much of a sissy to do anything to stop her, could you blame me? I hurt her, and honestly, no punch, slap, or kick she could do to me could _never_ amount to the heartbreak I must have caused her in those five months of my absence.

I was aching when she finally stopped, both physically and emotionally. My lip was beginning to bleed, my cheeks were horribly red, and my shirt was tattered and torn from her clawing and tearing at it. But that was nothing to what I was feeling inside.

"Yuna-chan…" I breathed, but she covered my mouth with her hand.

"Don't "Yuna-chan" me, Tidus; I'm not finished."

I sighed and hung my head.

"Five months…" I heard her whisper. "I waited for you. For five, _long_ months. I whistled. You said you'd come running. But you never did. Do you know… Do you know how many nights I cried myself to sleep? How many dreams I've had in which you come back to me?"

I couldn't help but let sadness wash over me, and began crying.

She continued on. "At this point, Tidus, there is nothing you can do, nor say, that can take back those five months of pain."

**First Person- Yuna**

That was a lie, I have to admit. There _was_ something he could say, and it was those three, little magic words that every girl would kill for to hear it said to them. And boy, at this point, hand me a knife, because I'm more than ready to do so.

I stared at Tidus for a minute. His head was down, he was sniffling quietly. I watched small tear drops fall from his eyes to the carpet.

"Tidus…" I started. Before he looked at me, he raised his arm to wipe his tears away. He gazed back me, taking quick, short breaths.

"Please tell me why you ran…"

He nodded slowly, taking a big breath before finally speaking.

What he said was barely audible, but it was loud enough for me to hear.

"Because you don't love me…"

My eyes widened at that.

'_Because I don't love you? What drugs have you been taking?'_

"Tidus, if I didn't love you… If I didn't care for you, I wouldn't spend my time and money looking for you and tracking you down. …When did I say that I didn't love you? Not once did I say such a thing!"

**First person- Tidus**

She _did_ have a point. She didn't _exactly_ say it. But she didn't say that she loved me romantically either.

I looked up at her and reminded her of a certain date.

"May sixteenth, five months and twelve days ago."

**First Person- Yuna**

'_What was he talking about?'_

I thought back to that day, trying to recall everything I said. And then it clicked.

"_I. Do. Not. Love. Tidus. Sasaki!"_

"Tidus, you're not, by any chance, talking about the whole Dona thing? I told you it was a misunderstanding!"

"No, no… It wasn't that…" he replied.

"Tidus, you're not making any sense…"

**First person- Tidus**

'_Oh, fuck it!'_

In that instant, I let all my feelings loose, breaking the glass that I kept them under for five months.

"Okay, Yuna! You wanna know why I left? You really wanna know?"

She stood up and she helped me get on my feet as well.

"Yes, Tidus! I really wanna know! Please tell me, because unless I find out, we can't do anything about this!"

"Fine! I left because I love you, Yuna Kuriyama! There! I said it!" I yelled at the top of my lungs and throwing my hands up in the air, flailing them around.

She stared at me in shock. I walked past her and paced back and forth, gushing out _everything_.

"I was in love with you, and I still am, and I will be forever! I told you the night of the sixteenth, but when you said "I love you" back, you said it as if to say you loved me only as a brother! So I left. I thought it would be the best for us! I wanted to get away, and think over our friendship. I was going to fly back to Tokyo, but here you are! You know my true feelings- the same feelings I've been hiding for five months!"

**First Person- Yuna**

I had no idea! Tidus _loved_ me? I remember that he came up to my room that night, and he said "I love you," but, being the stupid, idiotic, naïve little girl I was, didn't give it a second thought. I should have known! How could I have been so foolish?

He continued on with his confession.

**First Person- Tidus**

Since I already blew out my love for her, why not tell her everything else I felt?

"I think you are the most attractive, cutest, sexiest girl I have ever laid eyes on. I love everything about you. Your comforting eyes, your heartwarming smile, your long, silky brown hair, the satin feeling of your skin, the way your hips sway when you walk, the infectious sound of your laughter, the fullness of your breasts and the way they bounce…"

To be honest, and I'm not gonna lie to you, I wasn't the least bit nervous about saying the last part.

"I LOVE YOU!"

I took a deep breath and ran a hand through my hair.

"There… now you know. As cheesy as it may sound, Yuna-chan… you complete me."

I turned around to face her, only to be greeted with soft lips pressed against mine.

My eyes widened. Now _that_ was something I didn't expect. I guess I lave a lot to learn about Yuna.

I slowly closed my eyes and gave into her, encircling her in my arms.

I pressed my luck and slowly pried her lips open, wanting to gain entrance into her mouth.

**First Person- Yuna**

You've got to be kidding me.

_This_ is what I've been missing out on? For the past three years?

I felt him aggressively fight for control over our kiss. I wasn't going to give up so easily, so I fought back. He seem to gave given up shortly after, because I felt his tongue loosen. I moaned instantly at the warmth of his mouth, almost like I had fallen under a spell. I felt his strong arms wrap around my body tighten their grip on me, a hand trailing down my back to rest at my hip. His kiss was so insistent, and I could feel through his lips that he had missed me more than I had missed him. I can't blame him; at least I had someone to talk to back in Tokyo- he was all alone. I started kissing him back with equal passion and lust, my hands all over him, feeling as if he would slip out of my arms if I didn't hold him tight enough. After a short while, he slowly pulled away, much to my disappointment, and stared deeply into my bicolored eyes.

"I love you," he whispered sweetly, breathing heavily.

My eyes began tearing up, for the billionth time in less than an hour.

"I love you too, Tidus-kun. I have to tell you that I've been in love with you since I was fourteen. I just kept it a secret because I thought that it would jeopardize our friendship." I rested my head on his chest and slipped my hands under his t-shirt, my fingertips dancing over smooth, well-muscled skin, it almost felt as if he had become a hell of a lot stronger since we last embraced with this much fervor, minus the kissing of course. My fingers dipped in and out between the strong curves of his wash board stomach, then up more to trace small patterns around his ribs.

"You had me at 'hello,' Tidus-kun," I added, laughing at my own cheesiness. He seemed to think it was amusing as well, because he chuckled lightly.

"I missed you so…" he started, but didn't finish his sentence because tears overcame him.

"I missed you, too…" I replied quietly.

I kissed his neck and ran my tongue over his skin, eliciting a deep, masculine groan as a response. My hands crept further north up his torso, feeling his pectoral muscles and his nipples.

"Will you be my girl?" he whispered sensually in my ear.

I felt my heart skip a beat at his question. I looked up at him, while crying tears of happiness.

"Yes! Yes…" I replied, breaking into tears.

I felt him run his hands on my naked stomach, absorbing the warmth of his touch.

"Mmm…" I moaned quietly.

I guess he felt pretty bold and sure of himself, because his hands crawl onto my breasts, and he gave them a gentle but firm squeeze.

I gasped loudly and gazed at him in shock.

I didn't know what I was feeling at that moment, but, almost as a force oh habit, I reared my hand back and gave him a good slap across the face.

He yelped loudly in pain, clutching his now red cheek. I ripped his hand that was still holding onto me off my chest.

"Honestly, Tidus… Will you _ever_ change?"

I stomped angrily towards the bathroom.

"Yuna-chan!" I heard him call out to me. "Wait! Why is it that you can get away with it, and I can't?"

"You must be pretty dumb to not know the answer, Tidus Sasaki! You... You... You didn't even say please!" I yelled. And with that, I slammed the door shut, leaving a confused Tidus behind.

**Epilogue- Yuna**

So _this_ is my life now. And for once in my life, I'm truly happy. I guess it's safe to say that I _am_ living a storybook life: not only did I befriend the most perfect guy under the sun; we are now officially dating. And for now, I wouldn't have it any other way, because I will never again have to keep my true feelings for Tidus Sasaki under glass.

**Epilogue- Tidus**

_Now_ I finally know that Yuna doesn't just think of me as the big brother she never had. Of course my snap decision to run away almost ruined our friendship and my happiness completely, and I know that it was the stupidest thing I have ever done, but you have to admit, it was one hell of a way to bring us back together. And now, for the first time in my life, I'm actually happy. And, because Yuna and I are now a couple, I will never have to keep my love for Yuna Kuriyama under glass.

_**The End**_

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**_

Whew! My very first completed multi-chaptered story! I hope you liked it. It really tried to focus on Tidus and Yuna, and Tidus and Yuna alone. As you can see, and I already said this before, I severely limited the roles of characters that traditionally have developed and large personalities in a high school story, and, as I usually have extras, minor, and other superfluous characters in my stories, I tried not to do that, because I wanted this to be solely a Tidus/Yuna fanfic. Anyway, thanks to those who followed this story and reviewed the other chapters and put it on their favorite's lists and alerted it. Also, another big thanks to the people who said they'd tell their friends about this story. It's really appreciated. If you haven't told your friends about this story, please do. And tell them to review! Anyway, thanks a lot, everyone.

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Here's some definition stuff before I forget.

-_"Like in the "Fantasy" video?"_: A reference to the music video for Mariah Carey's 1995 number-one hit "Fantasy." You've seen it right? The one with the clown and she's singing on the roller coaster and then there's the chubby girl, and then she roller blades a little bit, and then it's night time and she's singing in a jeep surrounded by dancers? Search "Mariah Carey Fantasy" on YouTube for it if you still don't know or haven't seen it.

**Black's Beach Nude Beach**: A beach in La Jolla, San Diego. It's not exactly a nude beach, but clothing _is _optional. It its arguably the largest clothing-optional beach in the contiguous United States. Personally, I've never been, mostly because I'm underage for that sort of thing (I'm fourteen- you do the math).  
**Pacific Beach**: A neighborhood in San Diego, with La Jolla bordering the north, Mission Beach to the south, Interstate 5 to the east, and the pacific Ocean to the west. It is very popular with college students and surfers for the beaches, the surf, and the nightclubs in the area. Housing prices are gradually increasing due to demand, but despite being a seaside community, prices are relatively low, with the highest prices reaching a little over half a million dollars (that may be expensive wherever you live, but here in San Diego, that's a deal). As said before, Pacific Beach has the largest concentration of nightclubs and other nightlife centers in San Diego County due to its close proximity to the beach and UCSD (University of California, San Diego) in La Jolla and SDSU (San Diego State University) in University Heights.  
**La Jolla**: A seaside resort community in northern San Diego. Housing prices are astronomically high, with most houses running over ten million dollars. Other than Downtown and Coronado, La Jolla has the highest concentration of high-end designer stores in San Diego County. Theodor Geisel, otherwise known as Dr. Seuss, made his home here, just a few years before he passed on. Me and my friends like to make fun of all the stereotypical rich and superficial teenagers that live there.  
**Coronado**: A peninsula on San Diego Bay. It is connected to the mainland by the Silver Strand, a narrow strip of land, and the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge which is part of California Highway 75. Ferry boats also make trips from Downtown to Coronado. Most of the peninsula is home to North Island Naval Station, and sandy beaches. Its most prominent landmark is Hotel del Coronado.  
**San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge**: Locally referred to as simply "Coronado Bridge," it is a non-pedestrian prestressed concrete/steel bridge connecting Coronado Island with the rest of San Diego. It is 11,180 feet long, has five lanes, and the longest box girder in the world. The bridge was designed to curve 80 degrees, and the highest point reaches two-hundred feet, allowing the tallest of ships to pass under. Some parts of the bridge are able to float on the water, so should the bridge be destroyed or collapse, parts of the bridge can be easily towed away, and ships stationed at Naval Station San Diego can continue operation quickly. Since the opening of the bridge in 1969, one dollar tolls were collected when driving west-bound to Coronado. In 2003, tolls were discontinued, and became the last bridge in Southern California to discontinue tolls. However, the toll booths still remain intact.  
**Hotel del Coronado**: A luxury hotel in Coronado, situated on the Pacific Ocean, across from San Diego Bay. It was first designed for a beach resort for the wealthy and stars of Hollywood. Built in 1888, it is considered the epitome of wooden Victorian architecture in the United States. Past guests include Thomas Edison, Charles Lindbergh, and Presidents Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Regan, both George Bush senior and junior, and Bill Clinton. The hotel is also home to the ghost of Kate Morgan. She checked into the hotel in 1892 after making a promise to meet her lover there, but he never showed up. She was found dead on the beach shortly after. It was first declared suicide, but investigations a hundred years later showed that she was shot. Ever since her death, there have been rumors that she haunts the grounds of Hotel del Coronado, although those same allegations say that she is relatively calm and doesn't disrupt the guests and the worker's affairs very often, if ever.

**-----**

Also, I don't know if you noticed, but I make quite a few allusions and references to Final Fantasy X/X-2 throughout the story:

-**The way Yuna's clothing transitioned from demure to revealing**: Tidus mentioned this in chapter two. It's a reference to Yuna's clothing change from Final Fantasy X to Final Fantasy X-2.  
-**Zen Arukando High School**: I told you about this one already, but for those who forgot, "Zen Aurkando" is "Zanarkand" with a Japanese accent. The way I spelled it however, when you translate it into romaji, is incorrect.  
-**Rikku's contact lens**: They have a geen color with a swirling design on them. A reference to the distinct eye color and design of the Al Bhed tribe.  
-**Tidus' relationship with Lulu**: Tidus says that he has a sort of limbo friendship with Lulu, and that she's sometimes nice to him, sort of like their relationship in Final Fantasy X.  
-**The whistling promise**: Remember the "if you ever need me, just whistle" thing in Final Fantasy X? I found a way to incorporate it into the story. You know: Tidus shows her the whistle, she fails the first time, she keeps practicing until she finally gets it right, and when he disappears, she keeps whistling, but no one whistles back. Same exact thing.  
-**Tidus leaving**: The whole "Yuna trying to find Tidus" subplot of the story is rather similar to the "Yuna trying to find Tidus" plot in Final Fantasy X-2 when you think about it, minus sphere hunting and the Vegnagun deal.  
-**Yuna's curiousity, as describe by Tidus**: Tidus says at the beginning of this chapter that Yuna was "always inquisitive, and usually found herself getting caught in other people's affairs." Sound familiar? Yuna getting caught in Yevon's business? Yuna always trying to help other people? Getting involved with Vegnagun? I thought so.  
-**"At least she didn't take two years."**: A reference to how long Tidus's absence after he disappeared at the end of Final Fantasy X, but before Yuna brought him back at the end of Final Fantasy X-2.

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I bet you didn't think about _those_ stuff, right? I'm so creative.

Okay. _This_ chapter is the longest I have ever typed. It has over seven thousand words, and a few hundred words longer than chapter two (my longest chapter before this). Anyway, review, please, and tell your friends about this story (and tell them to review, also).

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**Update (Friday, August 18, 2006)**: I've recieved reviews and private messages concering a sequel. There's more information about it in my profile, so check it out, okay?

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Review, please.


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